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Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

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Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#441

Post by JohnDotAwesome »

chongli wrote: post #234
AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great question! :) Narrators actually do switch all character voices in real-time. This does not commonly cause issues that require recording to stop, as the narrators are usually very experienced professionals that come from the Broadway stage or from other voice acting professions (cartoons and the like.) I've also recorded and edited my fair share of bad voice actors (for instance, former Labor Secretary Robert Re…

for instance, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich narrated his book 'Beyond Outrage' even though he was told that it really wasn't a good idea. That's a very interesting aside. I could see how a non-professional narrator would struggle with the demands of the process. Would it not still have made sense for someone like Mr. Reich from a personal branding point of view? He is, after all, a somewhat well-known public fi…

I listened to Bill Bryson's self-narrated (and truncated) version of A Short History of Nearly Everything. It was my first time listening to an author self-narrating their book. It's probably one of my favorite narrations (I've got over 120 audiobooks under my belt now). Bryson set the bar pretty high.

Then I listened to Leonard Mlodinow's "The Upright Thinkers"; Oh god. Euclid's Window by Mlodinow was absolutely fantastic, and it was narrated by the slightly pompous-sounding -- but fitting -- Robert Blumenfield. Leonard had a somewhat slow, drawling voice, and he often stumbled over words. This was pretty disappointing because he seems like such a smart dude. He just shouldn't narrate his own books :)

Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#442

Post by noisy_boy »

pumblechook wrote: post #195
JoshDoody wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my negotiation principles is "Don't disclose your current or desired salary" during the negotiation. With persistence, the recruiter or hiring manager will usually just move on. Another principle is that you should always counter. So I'm _extremely_ surprised to hear that 95% of the time, people have refused to continue talking with you. I can't refute your experience, but I can say this has never happened to…

One technique I've tried that seems to get a particularly stubborn hiring manager or recruiter past the salary question is giving a generic number range. Before talking to anyone I usually do some basic research to get some idea of what a generally reasonable range is for the position, and adjust that based on my situation at the time. If pressed (I still don't give it up right away) I give that range. Example: today…

Based on the assumption that the least you would accept is your current salary, it is safe to assume that the lower range is same as your current salary i.e. using your example, a recruiter can deduce your salary is $75k.

Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#443

Post by p4wnc6 »

JoshDoody wrote: post #434
p4wnc6 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the handful of cases where the company was OK with my non-answer about salary, and I went on to get all the way to a job offer, the salary ended up being entirely miscalibrated to a candidate of my skill and experience, and the overall interview process (which usually included some technical screens, programming tests, take-home tests, and long on-site technical interviews) was a massive waste of my time, not to m…

It's tough to decide where to leave this reply, and this seems like a good place to address a few things I've seen in the replies to my comment. Usually, my advice is "don't share you current or desired salary", but the one exception I've discussed with some people is when they're concerned they'll be low-balled. In those cases, I've suggested it might be better to just disclose your desired salary. I've been rethink…

This is actually an excellent point, and I can't believe I didn't think of this.

If I am the first one to bring up salary, and I request a range because I want to make sure that nobody is wasting their time, then they clearly get the message that I am expensive to hire, and they can efficiently reject me if needed. If they give a number and it's too low, then I can politely tell them it's best for everyone to discontinue the interviews.

But, if they don't want to give a range, presumably because they might be willing to pay a high wage if they liked me, then it puts me in a much better position to avoid stating what I am seeking.

Then I could say, "OK, it's alright with me if you don't want to explicitly tell me the range ... I just want to be sure that the position is offering compensation in the range that I am seeking. If you prefer to leave the salary discussions for later, that is perfectly understandable."

Now, if they press me for salary info, I can say the same thing they said and refuse to answer.

Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#444

Post by ryanSrich »

nilkn wrote: post #224
vox_mollis wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only on HN are these incredible compensation packages considered "underpaid". In the real world (outside FaceGoogAmaWallstreet), the story for developers is quite different.

In general I'd agree with you, but a ~$70k salary really is not that high for a decent developer with two years of experience, even with a signing bonus and stock options. I'm not in a major tech hub. Keep in mind also that Amazon is not some tiny startup strapped for cash. It's a big player in the industry and their hiring standards are rigorous.

$70k is severely underpaid for final comp. The OP said in a follow up comment that his total comp is close to $130k which is a very good wage.

Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#445

Post by JoshDoody »

p4wnc6 wrote: post #443
JoshDoody wrote: post #434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's tough to decide where to leave this reply, and this seems like a good place to address a few things I've seen in the replies to my comment. Usually, my advice is "don't share you current or desired salary", but the one exception I've discussed with some people is when they're concerned they'll be low-balled. In those cases, I've suggested it might be better to just disclose your desired salary. I've been rethink…

This is actually an excellent point, and I can't believe I didn't think of this. If I am the first one to bring up salary, and I request a range because I want to make sure that nobody is wasting their time, then they clearly get the message that I am expensive to hire, and they can efficiently reject me if needed. If they give a number and it's too low, then I can politely tell them it's best for everyone to discont…

That all sounds very good to me :)

Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#446

Post by gnopgnip »

knite wrote: post #211
JoshDoody wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my negotiation principles is "Don't disclose your current or desired salary" during the negotiation. With persistence, the recruiter or hiring manager will usually just move on. Another principle is that you should always counter. So I'm _extremely_ surprised to hear that 95% of the time, people have refused to continue talking with you. I can't refute your experience, but I can say this has never happened to…

I've wanted to share my thoughts and experiences regarding the "never be the first to quote a number" strategy for some time, but I usually see these threads when they're too stale to comment on. My background: I'm a senior-level engineer in my early 30s, in SF. After a consulting stint, I interviewed heavily in 2013, and again in the second half of 2015, and currently speak with 1-2 recruiter cold calls per week to…

You only need one job. It doesn't matter if you exclude 1/3rd of all recruiters to get that one job. If you are disclosing your salary requirements first you are restricting yourself on the high side, and each person has to weigh what that is worth to avoid lowball offers.

Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#447

Post by eugene_ducker »

I created a throwaway just to pretend my salary isn't public record.

Location : Eugene, OR.

Position: Assistant Professor of Mathematics Tenure: 3 years Base pay (9 month) $72,000 in 2013, increased to about $75,000 in 2016. (minus union dues). Will increase to $82,000 when I make tenure.

Signing bonus: $0

Stock: $0

Pension : keeping my fingers crossed.

Experience when hire. Ph.D plus 5 years post-doc (at Princeton.)

Gender : M Native speaker: Yes.

Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#448

Post by blazespin »

jmathes wrote: post #165

The most important thing you can do for your career is: * Accept a job somewhere * Get promoted (doesn't matter how) * let yourself get hired away from your current company Getting hired away from your current company is the only way to get a fair raise based on increased experience. Companies never give substantial raises to current employees.

yep. job hopping is the best way to increase pay. though top 10% can usually negotiate with current employer. everyone else should job hop.

Re: Ask HN: How much do you make at Amazon? Here is how much I make at Amazon

#449

Post by stale2002 »

wheaties wrote: post #342
stale2002 wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There IS another solution to this. When someone asks how much you are currently making, you should flat out lie. They won't check. I've job hopped a bunch, and usually I just take whatever I was currently making, and add 15%, and say that that was my base. If employers are going to play negotiation games, you shouldn't feel bad about playing them too.

You do this and they catch you, you will be fired. I am a manager who believes in pay people more. Pay them what they want, not what they were making. That said, if you lie to me, I don't take it well.

There is literally no way for the employer to find out... What are they going to do? Call up my old workplace and ask exactly how much I am making? It is against the law for employers to reveal salary numbers. I could sue them, lol.

Employers play games way worse than this.

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