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The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

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Re: The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

#171

Post by joshjkim »

beat wrote: post #80
alistairSH wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I wondered about that. The PMs with whom I work all have 15+ years experience in the business. And for most of them, "the business" is our specific domain area, not just "software". I would expect their salaries to be in the same ballpark as a senior engineer or line manager.

I saw my spouse go through this a few years back. She was a product manager with 13 years of industry experience in a deep but narrow domain (international e-commerce) when she got laid off. The job hunt was kind of arduous, because we live in the midwest and don't want to relocate, and there just aren't that many jobs in her specialty in our area. Eventually she found one, but it took months. There were plenty of ge…

OT (and pretty random, apologies in advance!) but my company is distributed and might be a good fit for your spouse (we're an international e-commerce marketplace) if interested at all or if she'd like to chat, feel free to hit me up (email in profile!), thanks!

Re: The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

#172

Post by twic »

onion2k wrote: post #115
efields wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're worried apply for another job and tell the hiring manager on the other end what you're expecting for a salary. Don't be ludicrous, but maybe ask for 20% more than you're making. See what they say. If they don't blink and want you to come in, you're right: you're not making enough. I've gotten, "Well, we should probably stop this call soon because my cap is X and you're asking for more than that." It was rea…

My advice is be to be ludicrous. Ask for far more than you think you're worth. As most people undervalue themselves you'll often find companies saying yes, or at least negotiating down to more than you'd have asked for if you capped your wage raise to 20%. If they hire you you'll then be faced with the feeling that you're out of your depth, overpaid, and incapable of doing the job you took, but that's a different set…

Meanwhile, over here in London, last time i was looking, i asked a recruiter for 10% more than i was then getting, and they audibly paused before ending the conversation as quick as they could!

Re: The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

#173

Post by ecnahc515 »

g9yuayon wrote: post #140
someguydave wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, precisely, limits the supply of people who have "product talents to figure out what is valuable to produce"? Why are are people with such skills apparently more rare than people with technical skills?

That beats me. If I have to guess, I'd venture to say dealing with ambiguity is truly hard. As a production manager, you need to have unique insights on the market you're interested; you need to capture future trend; you need to understand human psyche, you need to convince your company to take risks and invest into something that does not necessarily have a future, you need to build trust with both the engineering t…

In my (limited) experience; a lot of our best PMs were once engineers, and they usually transitioned to PM roles because it let them actually execute on their visions, in addition to potentially more career growth potential.

Re: The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

#174

Post by gnulinux »

airstrike wrote: post #161
justaguyhere wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know I am getting underpaid, but I am okay with it. For me, it is the ratio of money and stress that matters. Lets say I get 20% hike but it comes with 50% more stress. I'd say no thanks and be happy with what I got. Better work is welcome, but more stress isn't.

What if it's a 2,000% hike with 100% more stress?

I think there is definitely a stress ceiling after which I wouldn't accept any paycheck to let me do the job. But this is my personal opinion, I would imagine more stress => less demand on the job market => higher paycheck. For me, money isn't the end goal, but a necessary part of the adventure. When you play RPGs you don't try to make crazy money, you make enough to buy things you want in the game. That's kinda sorta how I see my financial situation.

Re: The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

#176

Post by not_real_acct »

gnulinux wrote: post #88
reggieband wrote: post #73

I swear, every time I read an article on HN about salary it gives me anxiety. I'm perpetually worried that I'm not earning as much as I should be earning. I don't think it is healthy but I can't look away.

I have the same problem. I'm actually intentionally underpaid because this way (1) I have less anxiety about getting fired (2) I have less problems with imposter syndrome (3) I worry less about being underpaid since I know I'm underpaid. I know most people will think this is extremely irrational, but I'm paid about 3 times more than I can spend (I live very cheap and am happy this way) so I already save 2/3 of my tak…

In my experience, there's very little correlation between salary and longevity. There definitely seems to be a correlation between salary and "demand."

For instance, Kubernetes is really hot right now, and there's a limited supply of people who know it, so people that know it can make upwards of $200K.

OTOH, you could be the world's greatest Windows admin and you'll be lucky to make half that, because there's a million people who know Windows.

TLDR: specialization is more lucrative than sheer hard work and expertise.

Re: The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

#177

Post by eweise »

gnulinux wrote: post #88
reggieband wrote: post #73

I swear, every time I read an article on HN about salary it gives me anxiety. I'm perpetually worried that I'm not earning as much as I should be earning. I don't think it is healthy but I can't look away.

I have the same problem. I'm actually intentionally underpaid because this way (1) I have less anxiety about getting fired (2) I have less problems with imposter syndrome (3) I worry less about being underpaid since I know I'm underpaid. I know most people will think this is extremely irrational, but I'm paid about 3 times more than I can spend (I live very cheap and am happy this way) so I already save 2/3 of my tak…

I could see being underpaid actually causing you to get fired if it was a perceived signal for how valuable you are.

Re: The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

#178

Post by azhenley »

airstrike wrote: post #161
justaguyhere wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know I am getting underpaid, but I am okay with it. For me, it is the ratio of money and stress that matters. Lets say I get 20% hike but it comes with 50% more stress. I'd say no thanks and be happy with what I got. Better work is welcome, but more stress isn't.

What if it's a 2,000% hike with 100% more stress?

The other element I always consider is the risk. Right now the GP knows the amount of stress the job causes. Changing jobs has risk about his/her ability to estimate the stress caused by the new job.

I have a tendency to ignore things like stress (hard to measure) when selecting a job while overvaluing things that are easy to measure.

Re: The highest paid workers in Silicon Valley are product managers (2016)

#180

Post by foobarandgrill »

gnulinux wrote: post #88
reggieband wrote: post #73

I swear, every time I read an article on HN about salary it gives me anxiety. I'm perpetually worried that I'm not earning as much as I should be earning. I don't think it is healthy but I can't look away.

I have the same problem. I'm actually intentionally underpaid because this way (1) I have less anxiety about getting fired (2) I have less problems with imposter syndrome (3) I worry less about being underpaid since I know I'm underpaid. I know most people will think this is extremely irrational, but I'm paid about 3 times more than I can spend (I live very cheap and am happy this way) so I already save 2/3 of my tak…

I do the exact same thing, so you're not alone
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