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Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

#11

Post by tomstuart »

enki wrote: post #5
michaelhalligan wrote: post #3

$110k seems a tad low for someone with over a decade's experience in the bay area. I'd be looking for more around $150k/year in wage slavery as an overall comp package (bonuses and expected stock sale value added to base salary)

http://payscale.com/ and http://glassdoor.com/ suggest that the median is lower, not higher. But that's not even the point. With $110k you'll live more than great here, and if you're good you can always find new opportunities or a raise. Unless you have better alternatives, go for it - i'd trade a lot of income to live here rather than back home :)

IANAIL, but I expect that being on (presumably) an H1B will severely limit the OP's ability to shop around for new opportunities or raises.

Re: Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

#12

Post by davidw »

tomstuart wrote: post #11
enki wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://payscale.com/ and http://glassdoor.com/ suggest that the median is lower, not higher. But that's not even the point. With $110k you'll live more than great here, and if you're good you can always find new opportunities or a raise. Unless you have better alternatives, go for it - i'd trade a lot of income to live here rather than back home :)

IANAIL, but I expect that being on (presumably) an H1B will severely limit the OP's ability to shop around for new opportunities or raises.

Perhaps, but staying in the UK is in some ways even more limiting.

Having just gone on a trip to Ireland, I'd do it just to get away from the dank darkness that pervades those northern lands:-)

Re: Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

#13

Post by jscore »

ardit33 wrote: post #6

110k is way too low, they are definitely lowballing you. If you think you are good, you should be making at least 130k-140k+, so I am sure you can negotiate that. If they don't come up on salary, you still can do the following: 1. Join google, work hard, get some experience, make some friends, then 2. Few months (or years) later, look for better opportunity with a better pay. It would be easier for you to find anothe…

I couldn't agree more with #2. It's downright terrible.

Re: Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

#16

Post by kral »

My 2 cents: I know we're talking about real life and in real life you can't eat only with dreams, but work for Google (or other $BigCompany) is life changing... Think about how much you could gain in experience... And experience is something you can "spend" without consume it.

Re: Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

#17

Post by mrtron »

ericabiz wrote: post #8

Seems a bit low for the Bay Area, but this is subjective and depends on what else they are giving you in terms of perks (free food, etc.) Someone else said rent was $1500. I lived in the Bay Area for 10 years and $1500 gets you a 1BR apartment (maybe 2BR if you want to live south or east). It gets you a share if you want to live in San Francisco. For a house, you are looking at $3K+.

Please don't sign posts here, we can see your name above your posts. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

#18

Post by davidw »

jscore wrote: post #13
ardit33 wrote: post #6

110k is way too low, they are definitely lowballing you. If you think you are good, you should be making at least 130k-140k+, so I am sure you can negotiate that. If they don't come up on salary, you still can do the following: 1. Join google, work hard, get some experience, make some friends, then 2. Few months (or years) later, look for better opportunity with a better pay. It would be easier for you to find anothe…

I couldn't agree more with #2. It's downright terrible.

He does (presumably) have a British accent though, which ought to count for something in terms of standing out from the crowd.

Re: Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

#19

Post by Eduis »

I'm an ex googler but not out of the engineering side so I can't comment on exactly what their current norm is. In general, this is a pretty typical offer for Google for a mid range employee, what outside of engineering they'd call an E5 or E6. Usually their salary & GSUs are negotiable, but not by much. Google does't pay a ton in general, and as others have mentioned, if you have a family on this salary with the potential that your wife can't work, things might be a stretch in the Bay Area. However, working for Google is an amazing experience. You're not going to retire early on the money you make. You'll have to balance your needs against the potential for future gains with Google on your resume. I'm sure the experience would be positive in many areas, but you shouldn't expect much more from them.

Re: Ask HN: Should I take this Google job offer?

#20

Post by dotBen »

Fellow Brit who moved out here 4 years ago.. I say go for it, especially if Google are going to sponsor your H1B. Make sure you completely understand the visa process and timeline though (if it's H1B you may have to wait a period of time before you can actually move). Don't forget you could always move jobs in a year so Google is a great 'landing' into the Bay Area.

If you have 11 years experience $110k seems a little low but it might be more than you are getting in UK (I was always paid shit in UK) and cost of living is lower here in the Bay Area (even in SF compared to London). Google is known for paying a little lower than average AND they will expect you to really put in the hours. I don't know many Googlers who actually get to work on their 20% time projects, either.

I personally would move to the City (San Francisco) and commute down in the Google busses.

At this point there are not going to be many firms that will pay the ~$20k for the visa application so I say go for it and then reassess what you REALLY want to do while you are out here.

Best of luck!

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