[sshine]

> At what point do you think taking a step back in seniority is worth it?

Job titles have different levels of inflation at different companies.

You mention that "seniority" comes in two flavors: More specialist, more responsibility.

You wouldn't be taking a step back in seniority either way, but you'd be choosing between growing in two different directions.

I currently work for a company where we choose to not differentiate job titles among developers, so I'm really just a developer. Still, it's the most challenging job I ever had, and it'll look cool on paper in spite of the lack of "ninja" in the title.

> I will likely make TL soon and get the same pay in the following months.

As @jstx says in another thread: Accepting a low-ball offer has bad psychology.

It sounds like the pay difference for their mid-level position isn't big enough.