Originally Posted by
sportsfan33
I am one such person. I left with my EAD. My manager was shocked and offered me a 30% raise on the spot. I declined politely and left on good terms. The opportunities I have had since I left are amazing and I can see my career has been fast tracked - I joined a small and dynamic firm at a substantially higher pay, greater responsibility and great career advancement options. I always had a super steady job but I saw that the raises were progressively reducing, my responsibilities were not expanding, and my title was going through meaningless "senior", "senior II" and "senior III" progressions. It was not bad, but that party wouldn't last forever. Once you hit your 40s, you are on the chopping block unless you have ascended high enough to be a decision maker. Always remember that.
I have always viewed the EAD as a GC. Of course it has to have that "same or similar" thing with it. Eventually, I want to change my career completely by doing something new, but that time is not now, and I am thankful for what the EAD did to me (and to my spouse too).
I would go as far as and say this: Even if you jeopardize your GC, bite the bullet and do the right thing. Take the job with the best long term prospects. Your PD is locked. You can always start the whole thing again. If you waste your precious productive years waiting for the GC in your company, you might find it is too late to change.
Good luck,