Wow, my buddy in the next town got 30 lindens and his power bill dropped way more than yours!

3D mapping" can't sketch like a mentor from 1987, huh?

Three buddies of mine in Denver all took "promotions" at different companies last year and every single one got the same pay or less than their old job when you count the extra hours. I've seen this play out in retail too where a shift lead title comes with no raise but way more cleaning duties. Companies figured out people will trade time for a fancier business card and call it a win. Your HR friend just confirmed what a lot of us suspected, titles are cheap and cash is what they actually guard. Smart move turning that down, better to wait for a real bump than eat extra stress for free.