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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

#491

Post by Dr_tldr »

p4wnc6 wrote: post #128
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…

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…

Your experience with small to mid-sized firms does sound depressingly typical and I've experienced it too, but I think it's worth mentioning that Amazon specifically won't reject you for not saying a number.

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

#492

Post by hodgesrm »

st3v3r wrote: post #176
mmanfrin wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A company does not have to give reason to fire in an at-will state. If they don't say 'we fired you because you were discussing pay', then there is no means to prove that was the case.

See, that's why at-will is a terrible end run around worker's rights.

How so? At-will cuts both ways. In countries like Finland as well as France it can be quite time-consuming to switch jobs due to the fact you have to give three months or more notice.

That's leaving aside entirely the issue of how at will employment gives companies confidence to hire since they know they can shed employees if things go south.

If you are looking for an end run try binding arbitration, which allows employers to opt out of the legal system.

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

#493

Post by enraged_camel »

albinofrenchy wrote: post #470
JoshDoody wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This response makes me wonder why you don't just tell the candidate the range you're willing to pay and let them tell you if that works for them. I definitely understand the need to be efficient with everyone's time, but "have the candidate share their desired salary" is only one way to do that. I have heard this reasoning from recruiters many times, but haven't heard a good explanation as to why they don't just tell…

The reason is because the first person to say a number is at a slight disadvantage, and recruiters and managers don't want it to be them. It is true that making sure you are on the same page salary-wise is a good idea, but it doesn't always have to be the interviewee to establish that.

See my response... this isn't the reason we do it. In fact we try to put the position's salary range on the job posting if we can come up with an agreement internally (our hiring is very informal). Or we put "market rate; negotiable" or something along those lines, and put the onus on the applicant to research what their market rate is.

Basically, I have a checklist for the first phone interview, and the relevant item on that checklist is "make sure pay range is agreeable". It doesn't say "get desired pay range from candidate" or "let the candidate know what the pay range is". We have no preference.

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

#494

Post by jv22222 »

linkedin_dev wrote: post #110

I'll add my $.02 for LinkedIn. Sr Software Eng at LinkedIn in CA. $165,000 Base $25,000 Hiring Bonus $300,000 Stock (25% 1st year, then quarterly for the remaining 75% over 3 years) ($300,000 at the time, now it's only about half that). 10% annual bonus. Male. Native English Speaker. I can also speak to a friend here all the stats are the same except he got a $35,000 moving stipend instead of a hiring bonus.

Hey, that's a good deal! I can hear the clicking sound of all the devs sending their resume to linkedin right now ;)

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

#495

Post by chm »

boren_ave11 wrote: post #118
chm wrote: post #97

You're not getting "ripped off" by having a base salary of 125K USD (with benefits and equity) fresh out of college. Tell you what, with a Bachelor's in Chemistry (in my year 176 people started, only 42 finished the degree so it's not a free lunch) I can expect to make between 40K and 60K CAD out of college and pay higher taxes than in the US. With a master's that I'm working towards, I'd be on the upper end of that…

I assume your comment is directed at me, the OP, as it was not in reply to anyone. >> You're not getting "ripped off" by having a base salary of 125K USD (with benefits and equity) fresh out of college. Nowhere in the thread has anyone used the term "ripped off" so I'm not sure why you put it in quotes. Your assumption that I am fresh out of college is wrong. >> So boo-hoo to those making only 125K with equity and be…

No, it wasn't directed at you. I should have mentioned that I was talking to others in the thread. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Some people felt entitled to more because they went to school. I actually thought the discussion you instigated was healthy. My bad!

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

#496

Post by achow »

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…

In past I have asked "What's your budget for the position?". In companies usually everything is budgeted during planning phase from new hires to promotions, bonuses etc.

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

#497

Post by chm »

MacsHeadroom wrote: post #192
chm wrote: post #97

You're not getting "ripped off" by having a base salary of 125K USD (with benefits and equity) fresh out of college. Tell you what, with a Bachelor's in Chemistry (in my year 176 people started, only 42 finished the degree so it's not a free lunch) I can expect to make between 40K and 60K CAD out of college and pay higher taxes than in the US. With a master's that I'm working towards, I'd be on the upper end of that…

>I can expect to make between 40K and 60K CAD out of college A chemical engineer with a BS in Alberta can make $120k CAD base-pay, easily. >and pay higher taxes than in the US. A San Franciscan making $120k USD pays $46,176 USD in taxes (state+fed) An Albertan making $120k CAD pays just $32,974 CAD in taxes (prov+fed) When software engineers want $120k, they move to SF/Seattle and work for . If you want $120k, move t…

Yes, I have some colleagues who went to Alberta - but they're now out of a job. They are chemists, not Chem.E's though. And I'm in eastern Canada, where the taxes are much higher. You'd pay 50% out of a 120K salary. See my reply to OP - I think I wasn't very clear.

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

#498

Post by chm »

st3v3r wrote: post #206
chm wrote: post #97

You're not getting "ripped off" by having a base salary of 125K USD (with benefits and equity) fresh out of college. Tell you what, with a Bachelor's in Chemistry (in my year 176 people started, only 42 finished the degree so it's not a free lunch) I can expect to make between 40K and 60K CAD out of college and pay higher taxes than in the US. With a master's that I'm working towards, I'd be on the upper end of that…

And other people will make significantly less than that 40k. So boo-hoo to those only making 40k with access to free healthcare.

The healthcare isn't free. You pay for it every year and if you're so unlucky to need it, you have 100% access to top notch treatment. But you definitely pay for it.

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

#499

Post by hibikir »

vox_mollis wrote: post #193
tdicola wrote: post #63

IMHO you're being underpaid quite a bit with that base salary in the Seattle area. Time to start interviewing at Microsoft, Google, etc. Those companies usually start fresh out of college developers with a base pay a bit over $100k, then bonuses, stock awards, etc. on top.

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

70k salary is junior money in St.Louis. Absolutely average senior devs make 100-120. Good ones do long term consulting, and get closer to the 200k range. The best I have seen for a local company is about 250k a year, for truly shiny people.

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

#500

Post by guftagu »

Mickchicken2 wrote: post #472
p4wnc6 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW I am basically in the same situation. My base pay is in the same region you describe for yours, and I rarely see offers that are even 80% of what my salary expectation is, let alone other forms of compensation and other benefits. I am in scientific computing and machine learning, and I actually love being an implementer and a coder. I don't want to be a people manager (mostly because I think all companies force…

Sorry this is off topic. Is there a way into machine learning without doing going and going an Ms or PhD? Im working my way through a coursera course on it but I'm not sure that is enough. All the positions I see are looking for academic experience or 5+ years doing it. Neither of which are doable for me.

I'm on that coursera course too! The course is pretty basic though. It'll help you get the concepts but there's too much spoon feeding in there to make you good enough to compete with people with MS and PhDs. Also that course doesn't cover deep learning and you should definitely study that.
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