I made $4 million profit last financial year with my own software businesses.
What would be one piece of advice to keep in one's head for a young, aspiring entrepreneur/dev?
Have a plan B.
Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
41–50 of 547 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "..where software is critical to them continuing to make that money.." Having worked in the finance world, where the wheels are made out of software at this point, I never got the feeling that the old guard that still ran the place fully understood how crucial software was to their business, and how much it saved in labour costs. The software department was generally seen as a cost center, with the salaries and out…
Great way to grow new guard buisnesses.
Monzo, N26, Revolut and all of the other nouveau banks would agree with you.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#43Story time: About 6 years ago a close friend with years of software experience was bored with her job and decided to look for another. She received plenty of solid job offers, all with excellent pay, but one of them stood out. It was a company that made back-end software for credit unions. Not sexy work, but what stood out to my friend was the how genuine the people she talked to during the "interview" process seemed…
Great story. With most interviews nowadays happening on-line, how can you recognize companies such as your friend's?
I’m Danish so this might not apply to an American context, or even a non-Danish context. I’ve been on the hiring side of things a few times, and I’ve worked in a lot of different organisations, and what I personally look for these days is companies which let you interview them as much as they interview you. This shows that they are looking for someone to be the right fit and that they know this process goes two ways.
I had an offer recently where it was online, it had gone through one of those ridiculous LinkedIn recruiters and it had been completely “missold” (not sure what the English word for misleading a “sale” is) to me. I figured this out after about 5 minutes of me asking them questions about their place and the work they wanted me to do, at which point I flat out said something along the lines of “I think I’m the wrong fit” to which they agreed, but they wanted to offer me another type of job in architecture and management. I didn’t want that, but the process of them being very open to me interviewing them helped us both out immensely in not picking each other.
It’s obviously only something you can really engage in if you don’t “need-need” a job.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#44Yes, I'm working in the UK for a medium size company and gets the same as my friend that works for Google(he does get slightly higher bonuses)
But I work 35 hrs a week while he works 45 and fly abroad every two weeks.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#45Reading the comments, I figured being a low level wizard really pays off in both satisfaction of curiosity and satisfaction of pocket.
I'd also argue that sometimes you get lower pay but in low cost places, with good benefits and work-life balance. It's more reasonable to take other things into the equation.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#46Don’t ignore the other aspects of compensation: raises, bonuses, vacation days, health insurance, etc. It’s not just salary.
> It’s not just salary. The "not just salary" bit is very often used as a mirage intended to fool employees to take a lower compensation than what they can get, and then tag a bunch of conditions that can't possibly or realistically be met.
Sometimes money is really not the only variable, unless it's a very large amount, say half a million.
For people with family, I believe a good insurance plan and flexibility in hours also mean a lot. Especially hours.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#47Story time: About 6 years ago a close friend with years of software experience was bored with her job and decided to look for another. She received plenty of solid job offers, all with excellent pay, but one of them stood out. It was a company that made back-end software for credit unions. Not sexy work, but what stood out to my friend was the how genuine the people she talked to during the "interview" process seemed…
This reads like a company from the fantasy world!
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#48Yes, I'm working in the UK for a medium size company and gets the same as my friend that works for Google(he does get slightly higher bonuses) But I work 35 hrs a week while he works 45 and fly abroad every two weeks.
Are you guys hiring :D?
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#49According 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. And I saw someone mention the average tenure is about 1.7 years.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It’s not just salary. The "not just salary" bit is very often used as a mirage intended to fool employees to take a lower compensation than what they can get, and then tag a bunch of conditions that can't possibly or realistically be met.
Sometimes money is really not the only variable, unless it's a very large amount, say half a million. For people with family, I believe a good insurance plan and flexibility in hours also mean a lot. Especially hours.
> a good insurance plan
Can be purchased with money.
> flexibility in hours
Hard to not get flexibility if remote is on the table, which it usually is for these jobs.