Dry Promotion: IT Advancement Without a Raise

Dry promotion in IT: advancing levels without increasing the paycheck

A technician joins an IT consultancy as N1 with a salary improvement over his previous job. Two months later, he is offered a promotion to N2. The argument is tempting: there is a lot of work, they are happy with him, and conditions "will be very similar." The fine print came later: more workload, more responsibility, rotating schedules, and not one euro more. This is the dry promotion, the advancement that changes the job label but not the payroll figure.

A case that, according to several participants in the thread, is not isolated: it gathers the ingredients of a practice described as common in tech consulting, where work comes in at a higher category but is paid at the lower level's rate.

What is a dry promotion and why is it flagged as common

Under the name of promotion hides, often, a change of label without a change in compensation. The company gains an N2-level worker paying them as N1; the employee, by their own calculation, loses at least €5,000 gross per year. And the raise is shelved in a promise: "we'll raise you in 2025," without specifying how much.

The mechanics, as described, are common in consultancies and managed service providers, the ecosystem known in industry slang as the meat grinders. The pattern repeats: the position is offered to someone already inside—cheaper than hiring externally—and the conversation about money is postponed for later.

The case: shifts starting at 5 AM for the same salary

There is a detail that hurts more than the figure: the schedule. Before, it was a predictable morning office day. After the promotion came the shifts—morning, afternoon, and one starting at 5 AM. The worker took on tasks that had been neglected for some time, documented them according to procedure, and still ended up cleaning up others' messes along the way.

When he put his disagreement in writing, the response was that throughout 2024 he would earn the same as when he joined "because he has been here little." His counteroffer was blunt: review the salary now or return him to N1, he doesn't care. Meanwhile, he prepares his exit: he updated his profile, made his "open to work" status visible to his boss on LinkedIn, and plans to do the bare minimum until something else comes up.

How much is paid in the sector: from €20,000 to €40,000

Here is the uncomfortable part for the company. The figures handled by the protagonist himself draw a range that does not match his paycheck: newcomers enter with €20,000 for a role whose real range is between €24,000 and €30,000, and those with three years likely hover around €30,000. The ceiling for the technical track, in his case, would not exceed €26,000.

Another professional recounts that after a year he was raised from €24,000 to €25,000—an insult, in his words—and three months later he left for €35,000. And the protagonist himself says they are now moving him toward a management role with a horizon of €40,000, almost €20,000 more than he earns now. The question, then, is not whether pay is low, but how long someone can stand earning the lower category.

On the other side, there are those who look with disbelief at the expectations of younger workers, who talk about going from €25,000 to €40,000 or from €40,000 to €50,000 in one move. These figures sound like fantasy until it is verified that, in a sector with remote work and international supply, the range has widened and the floor has moved. What is scarce is no longer talent: it is the willingness to pay for it.

What to do in the face of a promotion without a raise: stand firm, document, or leave

Responses are divided. One group maintains that the correct thing is to push back in writing and demand the salary for the occupied level; if it doesn't arrive, reduce performance to the bare minimum and look for another job in parallel. Another warns that any gesture—updating the profile, sending a claim email—burns the element of surprise: the company finds out before there is an external offer. And a third path asks not to confuse dignity with pride and to use the position as a springboard while learning.

In the middle, advice that repeats: document everything. When someone else's mess falls on you, make written record that it does not correspond to the post and that it is assumed voluntarily. Without paperwork, the disorder stops being the company's problem and becomes yours.

Over the old idea of making oneself indispensable hangs a reasonable warning: nobody is. The cited proof is that of a small company that lost its entire staff, hired an emergency team, and saved the situation. Performing well is a matter of personal fruta, they argue, but expecting the company to reward it on its own initiative is akin to organizing gifts for a group of friends and ending up with none.

The shortcut that works: changing companies

Against the internal path, which rarely yields big jumps, the external one offers raises that would take years within the same house. A cited case: a professional found his current job through a specialized portal and since joining over two years ago has seen his salary rise by 50%, with three increases between 6% and 15% and a change of role. Others recount jumps from €24,000 to €35,000 simply by changing companies. Inside the house, they nickel-and-dime; outside, they pay what the role is worth.

The fine print nobody signs

The case ends, for now, with another twist: the protagonist started being prepared for a higher-ranking management role, with training, meetings, and a horizon of €40,000. From the promised review for the previous promotion, however, nothing has been specified. It remains unresolved: a worker earning as N1 for an N2 job and training, for free, for whoever comes next.