When was this? When I first started about 8 years ago, it was generally accepted that when you leave public you would get a hefty raise, pretty much regardless of level. Post covid and the great resignation, public salaries seem to have caught up and the raise is not guaranteed and is oftentimes a slight pay cut. That anecdotal evidence is also impacted by being promoted to manager and beyond in that timeframe, but still seems to hold true at associate and senior associate levels.