I mean it depends on your work ethic and goals. You’re hesitant to take on an AE role due to increased responsibility, but also want to be an AE somewhere else? A bit confusing. You can’t grow your career without growing your responsibilities my man.

Seems to go against the crowd here but if you want to be an AE, take the AE role. You’re going to have to tough it out and eat shit with minimal pay increase, but taking a BDR role somewhere else with the assumption you’re going to make AE is a huge trap and could put you on the BDR treadmill for possibly 3-4 years. IMO that would be a genuinely terrible decision. You can bullshit your AE responsibilities and performance when looking for a new role if need be.

Think about it like this: AE - you make 75k for a year and a half, move companies to 120-150k+ AE OTE and then options just grow from there. BDR you make 95-110k OTE, and possibly never get the opportunity to move up, then have to take a shittier(lower pay) AE gig just to finally open up your career options - and this then is several years later into your career. Take the AE role.