Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#61

Post by fjsolwmv » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:07 PM UTC

CryoLogic wrote: post #4

0xB31B1B wrote: post #2

300 tc is pretty standard for FAANG and the big unicorns. I pull down 330k w 5 years experience at a Uber. 180 cash, 150k equity. I’m incredibly average, 5 years exp.

Amazon comp is below 300 until probably principal level. Maybe a few seniors have it.

That implies that there are thousands of employees, including very hard to achieve senior engineer level who work at a Amazon only because they dont care about making an extra $100k/yr or are in love with the company or can't pass interviews at any of Microsoft or Google or Facebook or one of the many local startups. I believe it for juniors who all quit after 2 years if they can, but seniors?

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#62

Post by Blackstone4 » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

devilmoon wrote: post #27

Question from someone not living in the US: How come you guys have such high salaries compared to ROW? Is the cost of life that much higher than other countries, or is your income simply taxed less / companies have generally more money to spend on employees? I am currently working in one of the highest paying (if not the highest) consultancy firms in my country, and my salary is probably lower than your minimum wage.…

The large software groups i.e. FAANG have very high margins and are very profitable. This means they can afford to pay their staff very well.

I live in the UK and the cost of living in London is roughly the same as NYC but salaries are lower for the same job.

Certain companies and countries (Luxembourg, Switzerland, UAE) have structural advantages which means staff get paid more. It is not always merit based. So you will have some very talented people who are are in the 'wrong' region or industry and get paid materially less than they could be.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#63

Post by adamnemecek » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

devy wrote: post #12

adamnemecek wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s definitely not standard. Esp at say amazon.

It depends on position. Total compensations for AI positions in top tier technology firms are well beyond $1M mark, some go as high as $3M annually.

How many people are making 3M?

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#64

Post by syntaxing » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

Any MechE here in the states that makes over $300k?! I rarely meet anyone that makes over $200K even if they are a principal engineer or management in the MechE related positions. Maybe high level engineering management will reach this salary but even then it's rare (I'm on the East coast if that matters).

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#65

Post by devilmoon » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #38

devilmoon wrote: post #27

Question from someone not living in the US: How come you guys have such high salaries compared to ROW? Is the cost of life that much higher than other countries, or is your income simply taxed less / companies have generally more money to spend on employees? I am currently working in one of the highest paying (if not the highest) consultancy firms in my country, and my salary is probably lower than your minimum wage.…

There is a geographic disparity in how tech workers are valued. Might consider working remote for a US company that'll bring your wage up above what your local tech economy will provide for. As a sibling comment points out, health insurance and child care consume quite a bit of a wage in the US (our employer portion is $20k/year alone for a family of four; childcare is easily $1k/per child/per month for 2 days a week…

I've thought about working remote but I've heard that unless the company is geared towards making the playing field even for remote/onsite workers you'll be having an hard time getting noticed/pulled into projects.

Might be something I'll look into if nothing I can find in the EU satisfies me.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#66

Post by dx034 » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

0xB31B1B wrote: post #2

300 tc is pretty standard for FAANG and the big unicorns. I pull down 330k w 5 years experience at a Uber. 180 cash, 150k equity. I’m incredibly average, 5 years exp.

Is that equity you can sell? Or does it have several years lock-up? In that case I can imagine that the value is hard to estimate, e.g. SNAP employees will have had a significantly lower comp than thought.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#67

Post by manacit » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

Apreche wrote: post #33

Here's the real question. If you are pulling that much, why are you still working? Why not head straight to the beach and live a wonderful life of idle luxury?

Because you wouldn't be earning $300k+/y if you headed straight to the beach?

You have to do it for many many years to build the amount of wealth you'd need to live a life of idle luxury

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#68

Post by jerguismi » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

Apreche wrote: post #33

Here's the real question. If you are pulling that much, why are you still working? Why not head straight to the beach and live a wonderful life of idle luxury?

> Why not head straight to the beach and live a wonderful life of idle luxury?

This might sound nice to many, but for it might be preferable to work on something meaningful as well.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#69

Post by mtw » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:09 PM UTC

devilmoon wrote: post #27

Question from someone not living in the US: How come you guys have such high salaries compared to ROW? Is the cost of life that much higher than other countries, or is your income simply taxed less / companies have generally more money to spend on employees? I am currently working in one of the highest paying (if not the highest) consultancy firms in my country, and my salary is probably lower than your minimum wage.…

Other western governments take care of healthcare costs, unemployment benefits, maternity/paternity leave, holidays, education costs and retirement. For example, in France or Germany, tuition fees for your kids are minimal while it's a fortune in the US. Or the governments in Europe mandate companies to pay 4 or 5 weeks of holidays. If an employee in the US wants to take 5 weeks, he/she has to pay 3 weeks out of their own pocket.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $300k/year, how did you achieve it?

#70

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 3:09 PM UTC

devilmoon wrote: post #65

toomuchtodo wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a geographic disparity in how tech workers are valued. Might consider working remote for a US company that'll bring your wage up above what your local tech economy will provide for. As a sibling comment points out, health insurance and child care consume quite a bit of a wage in the US (our employer portion is $20k/year alone for a family of four; childcare is easily $1k/per child/per month for 2 days a week…

I've thought about working remote but I've heard that unless the company is geared towards making the playing field even for remote/onsite workers you'll be having an hard time getting noticed/pulled into projects. Might be something I'll look into if nothing I can find in the EU satisfies me.

[deleted]