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Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#121

Post by feyman_r »

Anon1096 wrote: post #113
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that because it's actually that different, or because it would mangle the acronym?

It pays dramatically lower than actual FAANG-type companies and has a lower hiring bar to compensate. Senior positions are around half the TC you'd get at Meta.

Amazon and Microsoft are very close in their compensation; in fact they except Meta and Netflix, everyone is very close to each other.

You should check out levels.fyi if you don’t have sources from those companies.

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#122

Post by saagarjha »

hiddencost wrote: post #115
muzani wrote: post #49

According to levels.fyi, FAANG only pays the most at the most experienced levels. I'm not sure if those are even hired for, they might be promoted into. Of the rest, the top paying ones seem to be fintech and AI startups. Only Netflix still scores high in top salaries. It would make sense too, as they have a lot of leverage. Lots of people joining are happy to take a cut just to have the FAANG name on their resume. A…

Those salary websites are very wrong.

What about it is wrong?

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#123

Post by sprobertson »

red-iron-pine wrote: post #96
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that because it's actually that different, or because it would mangle the acronym?

Aye. I've heard MAANGA used. They're not in the FAANG but you'd better believe they still pay well. levels.fyi has most of these rough TCO numbers, for big orgs. SF firms pay the most but you're also paying $5900/month for an apartment with a reasonable commute in the Bay Area, and greater Seattle ain't that crazy yet.

The M in MANGA is an update from Facebook to Meta

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#124

Post by juujian »

I know this is a tangent, but, and I'm putting words in your mouth, is it so important to earn a FAANG salary? And yes, I know, it helps with negotiating salaries but that's circular.

Maybe that's just the state of the job market, no desirable jobs left, only thing we can hope for is a high salary?

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#125

Post by epc »

amonith wrote: post #109
dzonga wrote: post #62

it'a catch 22 with some of those companies. 1. they don't hire often & usually have small teams 2. they make so much money, that they don't make noise about it. & you won't hear about them, unless one day you randomly run into one of their employees saying they're hiring on reddit / hn 3. they work in unsexy industries or high risk stuff e.g gambling 4. they're usually located in places you wouldn't expect

Why would gambling be high risk for employees? Unless you compare it to some cushy govt job it isn't really more "layoff-prone" than others.

Layoffs are not the primary risk of being an employee at a gambling company.

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#126

Post by PaulHoule »

amonith wrote: post #118
Zambyte wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are some examples of unsexy industries that are high paying?

Ironically probably porn is the most unsexy on a CV.

Funny I worked for a place that, before I was there, was a major vendor of search engines for the porn industry despite the owner being a conservative mutual fund manager. (e.g. I had a poster for an ETN I liked on the wall of my office and it got taken down before he visited)

I know things went bad and I had something in my contract that I'd be immediately dismissed if I was found to have pornography on my laptop or any other computer belonging to the company.

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#127

Post by shmatt »

juujian wrote: post #124

I know this is a tangent, but, and I'm putting words in your mouth, is it so important to earn a FAANG salary? And yes, I know, it helps with negotiating salaries but that's circular. Maybe that's just the state of the job market, no desirable jobs left, only thing we can hope for is a high salary?

if one lives in a HCOL area and does not have family to pay for their living situation, the choice can be move to another state or get a FAANG salary.

Getting rent raises that are 1000% higher than annual salary raises, childcare costing like renting another apartment each month, per child, has become the norm

Spend enough time in a major US metropolin and you figure its about 50/50 people with very high income, and people who's family is funding their lifestyle

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#128

Post by meiraleal »

amonith wrote: post #109
dzonga wrote: post #62

it'a catch 22 with some of those companies. 1. they don't hire often & usually have small teams 2. they make so much money, that they don't make noise about it. & you won't hear about them, unless one day you randomly run into one of their employees saying they're hiring on reddit / hn 3. they work in unsexy industries or high risk stuff e.g gambling 4. they're usually located in places you wouldn't expect

Why would gambling be high risk for employees? Unless you compare it to some cushy govt job it isn't really more "layoff-prone" than others.

You might not easily find another job after

Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?

#130

Post by javier123454321 »

garciasn wrote: post #105
stuff4ben wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was younger, the salary definitely would have been the top deciding factor. These days I'd willingly give up $50K for an extra 4 weeks of PTO. And none of that "unlimited PTO" bullshit either.

I am part of the group that misses unlimited PTO. I was averaging 8-9 weeks of time off under the unlimited model while I am capped at 5 weeks at a company with actual PTO. The only difference is that I get paid out any remaining PTO, should I leave, whereas with unlimited, there was no expectation that it will be paid out on departure.

I also came from a place with unlimited and I loved it. Makes me wonder if the people that regurgitate the notion that it's a trap actually have worked in places with unlimited.
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