A wiggle test with heat gun on each pin saved me from that exact headache once.

Titles do open doors that money can't, and some hiring managers only look at what you were called, not what you got paid. Taking a lower check for a year or two can pay off big if that fancy label gets you into rooms you couldn't enter before. Playing it safe with the cash is fine until you're stuck with the same job title five years from now and nowhere to go.

Ever notice how half the stuff we do is just shortcuts that come back to bite us? Like people who never change their furnace filter and then wonder why the thing dies in January, or guys who run oil changes to 10k miles because the sticker says so. The pad slap is the same deal, you skip the prep work and pay for it later with parts you shouldn't have needed yet. Dave wasn't wrong, he was just telling you the bill always comes due one way or another. Smart of you to actually listen instead of getting mad at the messenger.