re: How much of an increase in pay would it take for you to switch careers?

There's 40 people in this country that can do what I do and I know all of them. I'm paid very well (unless you are my employer....then I am paid poorly and I'm about to leave any moment).

I've sort of made it my trademark to build out this particular solution, and I've been doing it as a consultant for 10+ years all over the globe. I only just last year moved to a massive company to make it work there in a way that nobody has seen before - not even me.

In 6 years I'm probably going to do the same thing at another company in this industry, then 6 years later start looking at slowing down significantly. I'll be approaching my mid 50s by then, and should have upwards of about $4m retirement savings and $5,500/month in passive income if I can stay healthy enough to adhere to my plan. By then I want to be able to be very, very involved in my kid's and family life and hopefully a few healthy hobbies I can do alone since I have zero friends.

Me deviating from my plan or accelerating an exit from my current project (I actually enjoy it because it's never been done before)......that would need to come with another $100K/year or so minimum, and a signing bonus pretty close to that. I know the exact company that would do this, but they may not be ready for another 2 years.