Your Biggest Jumps in Income

[DonkeyKongSr]

I recently was sought out for a position by a company other than the one I work for. They asked me what it would take for me to come on over to them. I threw out a number that would give me a 50% raise, thinking they'd negotiate down to another number I'd be perfectly happy with. They didn't blink. I've accepted the job, but now I wish I would have asked for more. Still, this is going to have a significant impact on my quality of life. This is money I wouldn't get at my current job probably even 5 years down the line. I didn't even think this money was avaiable in this industry (advertising) so soon in my career (less than 5 years). I was getting discouraged by my choice of careers, but this has given me new hope.

The one key thing it's going to do for me is I will finally be able to go from renter to homeowner within probably a year of saving. I'm almost 30 and it has sucked to be barely above even at this point in my life. This job will definitely get me way ahead for once.

So, my questions are...
- What is the biggest jump in income you've had? (not really talking about no job to first job, but if that's all you got, talk about it)
- How significantly did it change your life?