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Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

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Re: Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

#281

Post by runamok »

ux-app wrote: post #271
LandoCalrissian wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I have stayed at my current company so long. They give us unlimited PTO, free public transit, good 401k matching, good healthcare and the relative cost of living is great. Hours are reasonable and maintaining work life balance is encouraged at all times. I could leave and probably make quite a bit more, but I don't think all the benefits would come along with it. Also the relative cost of living almost gu…

> They give us unlimited PTO, This is one of the most pernicious anti-perks around. I'd like 12 months of leave at full pay thanks. This 'perk' actually ends up having the opposite effect. People take less time off because of guilt or lack of confidence in what is a 'reasonable' amount of time off to take. Tell me exactly the number of days off I can have and make them no questions asked. That way I can clock out and…

It really depends on the culture. My managers regularly disappear for a week or two at a time throughout the year. As a result most of us feel free to do do too. That being said I am almost always with laptop in hand to deal with the rare emergency but overall I have been pleased with the arrangement. I probably take 4 weeks or so a year and typically in the past have been limited to two...

Re: Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

#282

Post by imh »

throwaway_7531 wrote: post #189

I'd put my salary on there, but it's a specific number in the $400k-$800k range (yes, base), which is basically identifiable. I may be the only person at my company on this specific number. (And I'm nervous about tightening that range up any more!) How many other highly paid professionals have the same hesitation? The really high salaries may never be part of an anonymous survey like this, where you are required to b…

The only required fields are job title and base pay. Round your pay and fudge the title a bit. Only add the other info that won't ID you, slightly changing details as you go (round numbers, nearest metro area, etc)

Re: Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

#283

Post by ux-app »

qaid wrote: post #273
ux-app wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They give us unlimited PTO, This is one of the most pernicious anti-perks around. I'd like 12 months of leave at full pay thanks. This 'perk' actually ends up having the opposite effect. People take less time off because of guilt or lack of confidence in what is a 'reasonable' amount of time off to take. Tell me exactly the number of days off I can have and make them no questions asked. That way I can clock out and…

13 weeks!? Can you at least give me a hint at which company you work at?

Well here's the rub, I work as a teacher, which is one of the most highly unionised workforces. I feel deeply sorry when I hear about the awful state of employment (in the US in particular). At will employment, 'unlimited' PTO, healthcare tied to employment etc. It's just so dehumanising and hostile. Doubly baffling is the average Joe's seeming distaste for unions.

Here's a sample of the conditions I can enjoy as a teacher here in Australia

$100k salary with guaranteed yearly increases that outpace inflation (this year was a 2.5% increase while inflation is at around 1.6%)

Guilt free, no questions asked sick leave.

Work-life balance. It was trivial for me to apply for part-time work. I now only work Mon-Thu.

Union-led, rolling negotiations for improved pay, working conditions, reductions to work hours etc.

It's the closest thing to a worker's paradise I can think of short of a post work, robot singularity.

Obviously not every profession is subsidized by the government like teaching and therefore can't, by extension, remain competitive while also being so worker friendly.

Even if you're not lucky enough to have such amazing conditions let's all at least call a spade a spade. Things like unlimited PTO are just ways to screw the little guy.

Re: Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

#285

Post by jacalata »

joshmanders wrote: post #69

This makes me wonder how many people are okay with being underpaid. Like my title is officially VP of Engineering. But because of the circumstances of my position and what I was hired to do, I am probably making less than what someone in my position gets in sign on bonuses. $30,000/yr This is because I am not only the first employee but the only employee (if you don't count CEO) and only technical person. I was hired…

Assuming you have significant equity in the company, add that information.

Re: Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

#286

Post by elgenie »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #265
at-fates-hands wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As you get older, your view on benefits changes dramatically. When I was fresh out of college, I had no wife, no kids, no bills, no house. I took all the cool startup perks - free concert tickets, free box tickets to pro sports teams in town, free RedBull, free pop and food, free lunch. Now in my 30's I have bills, investments, a house mortgage. I went to interview at some smaller startups and established web agencie…

I came to the realisation the other day that I really don't care about free lunch, or free Red Bull, or any of those freebies. They're not really free, because that money could be otherwise used to pay you. I'd rather get money that I could then spend on lunch, than get free lunch.

"I'd rather get money that I could then spend on lunch, than get free lunch."

In the US, free lunch at work is not considered income for the purposes of taxation [1], but salary that you'd be using towards lunch would be taxed. So, if you eat lunch at work either way, you're going to be getting about 1⅔ as much lunch in-kind as opposed to in salary (assuming marginal 40% state+federal tax).

And that's setting aside the issue of whether it's a good use of your time/energy/willpower to contemplate what/where/how to feed yourself in the middle of your workday.

[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/119

Re: Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

#287

Post by hueving »

ux-app wrote: post #283
qaid wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

13 weeks!? Can you at least give me a hint at which company you work at?

Well here's the rub, I work as a teacher, which is one of the most highly unionised workforces. I feel deeply sorry when I hear about the awful state of employment (in the US in particular). At will employment, 'unlimited' PTO, healthcare tied to employment etc. It's just so dehumanising and hostile. Doubly baffling is the average Joe's seeming distaste for unions. Here's a sample of the conditions I can enjoy as a t…

>$100k salary with guaranteed yearly increases that outpace inflation (this year was a 2.5% increase while inflation is at around 1.6%)

I find it hard to believe that people advocate for such fundamentally unsustainable arrangements. Guaranteed raises outpacing inflation that aren't tied to performance at all? Nobody should be surprised when the costs to support a workforce that trends towards mediocrity (why try when you're not rewarded) eventually reach a point that breaks the bank (see California).

It's great that you got a position like that, but an economy cannot survive with a workforce that has massive compensation guaranteed without regard to market forces (see Greece).

Re: Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

#288

Post by zeroonetwothree »

throwaway_7531 wrote: post #189

I'd put my salary on there, but it's a specific number in the $400k-$800k range (yes, base), which is basically identifiable. I may be the only person at my company on this specific number. (And I'm nervous about tightening that range up any more!) How many other highly paid professionals have the same hesitation? The really high salaries may never be part of an anonymous survey like this, where you are required to b…

Why do you care if your employer knows you filled out a random google doc with your salary?

Re: Why not just a simple spreadsheet of salaries?

#289

Post by jahmed »

antjanus wrote: post #215
jotux wrote: post #104

It's strange to me that these salary discussions are so narrowly focused on just pay/bonus and don't seem to care about benefits and work/life balance. Here's stuff I track in my own career spreadsheet and compare new jobs against these metrics when considering a new one: * Vacation, sick, and holiday time off * Distance to work and traffic considerations * Relative cost of living * Health insurance cost and coverage…

That's a very good point. I once applied for a job that had an interesting pay: a little over 100K. But that doesn't tell you anything, right? It's the benefits: 1. 8 days PTO - yeah...seriously, so basically no time off 2. distance to work was about 20-30 minutes -- not bad 3. LOW relative cost of living -- that 100K STRETCHES FAR, unlike in the bay area 4. no health insurance, no coverage 5. no retirement benefits…

Yeah as a state employee my pay looks low compared to what some of my peers make. When you factor in benefits and 14% in pension contributions not to mention good culture and work-life balance I come out the same (if not ahead IMHO).
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