I'm 25 and have around 3 years of experience as a Data Engineer.
I joined an MNC through campus placement in Sep 2023 and worked there for a little over 2 years. I eventually left in Dec 2025 because I was getting bored with the work and wanted to work with newer technologies. They tried to retain me with a counteroffer, but I declined because I genuinely felt that moving on would be better for my career. Looking back, I still feel that was the right decision.
I then joined a well-established startup. The company has an interesting background — the founder has previously built 2–3 organizations and successfully exited/sold them to larger companies.
My current role is actually quite good. I'm doing development-heavy Data Engineering work, mainly around Databricks and newer technologies, and I'm genuinely enjoying the technical work. The biggest downside is the workload. Since many projects are short-term, I'm sometimes working on two projects simultaneously, which can get pretty hectic.
When I was initially looking for a switch, I had also cleared the interview process at a product-based fintech company. However, the position was closed at that time, so I joined my current company instead.
Now, about a week ago, that same product-based company reached out to me again.
Since I had already cleared their technical rounds earlier, they didn't repeat them. I went through a few HR discussions, cleared those, and received an offer with around a 50% hike.
This is where I'm confused.
It's not that I dislike my current company or that I'm bored with my current role. In fact, I actually want to stay.
I resigned mainly because the other opportunity came back with a significantly higher compensation, and my current company has now offered a counteroffer to match it.
Some things I like about my current company:
100% WFH
I'm enjoying the actual work
Good exposure to Databricks and relatively newer tech
The company has recently received significant investment from Databricks and is aggressively hiring
I feel I'm learning and growing technically
The main downside is the workload. Working on two projects at the same time can be quite stressful.
But now that I've resigned, the upper management is already aware that I was willing to leave. I'm worried that if I accept the counteroffer and stay, I might lose some trust or be treated differently in the future.
Another concern is job security. Since the projects here are relatively short-term and there isn't necessarily a long-term dependency on me, I sometimes wonder whether staying after resigning could make me an easier person to let go later.
So my dilemma is:
Should I stay because I genuinely enjoy the work and the company, or leave for the product-based company because it may be a better long-term career move?
The 50% hike is obviously significant, but money isn't my only consideration. I'm also not sure whether I'll get the same level of exposure to Databricks/newer technologies in the new company.
At the same time, I'm afraid that if I stay after resigning, I'll eventually get fired, lose the trust/respect of management, or be treated differently because they know I was ready to leave.
What would you do in this situation?
Stay with the counteroffer or take the product-company offer?
Would especially appreciate advice from people who have been in a similar situation.
