About 6 months ago, I started a role at a mid-stage tech startup. As part of my compensation, I got around $50,000 of options, a pretty typical amount for my role, experience, and the size and stage of the company.
Since then, my life circumstances and priorities changed (nothing dramatic), and I realized I'd rather have cash than options.
Is this a fair request for me to make, what's the right way to ask for this, and what's the right amount to ask for? Because of the vesting schedule and risk, my first instinct was to ask for a $12,500 raise beginning at my one-year mark and a $12,500 bonus on the same day, figuring it's similar in structure and average payout to the options.