start at the high salaries. I have been at a corporate job notorius for layoffs. I haven't asked for a raise in 15 years and have focused building wealth outside of my job. Not sure exactly what it is but my lower salary and not requesting raises has kept me safe from getting laid off and not getting promoted gave more time to build wealth outside of my job. There are pros and cons with this approach as my salary is not great and my job is often boring, but my wealth outside of my job has grown well.