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Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

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Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#541

Post by exclipy »

jcadam wrote: post #437
crispyambulance wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> for someone not working at a FAANG and not in specific geographic locations, these numbers are other-worldly. Yes. other-worldly is a good word for it. It's not so much that people don't believe these numbers, I think. It's more of a sense of disappointment and feeling left out. So many experienced professionals work their whole adult lives and end up maxing out at only a 1/10th of the compensation of a "principal"…

And the last few years I've taken to blowing off recruiters from SV (including FAANG companies). I'm earning very good money for a software engineer where I live, but... dang, "other-worldly" is a good term for the money you people make. OTOH, being forced to live in California is a huge downside to any FAANG job (for me, anyway).

We need to cut the myth that these salaries only exist in Silicon Valley.

Seattle and NYC also offer otherworldly packages.

Google (and probably other FAANGs) also pay extremely well in Boston, Los Angeles, Boulder, Chicago, Austin and Zurich/Switzerland.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#542

Post by exclipy »

crispyporkbites wrote: post #306
gnrlst wrote: post #190

What I find completely demotivating is working for a FAANG in Europe, and seeing the massive disparity between US colleagues. You can argue cost of living is different, healthcare is public blablabla, but recruiters have told me straight out: we dont adjust for cost of living, we adjust for market rate. Therefore they dont give a rats ass about how much it costs to live in a specific country, they just pay based on t…

What are FAANG in Europe salaries like? Is there also a perception of core product/business work taking place in SV and therefore European teams aren't as important?

For Google, Zurich has slightly higher salaries but half the RSUs compared to SV. But taxes and housing are lower in Zurich, so.

Comp isn't based on what's important for the business; it's based purely on market reference pricing.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#543

Post by tomlagier »

wcunning wrote: post #491
senordevnyc wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I probably have a dozen hobbies I'd love to explore that just aren't compatible with my NYC lifestyle. Like anything else, you make your choices on what tradeoffs are worth it to you. For me, not being able to have a machine shop (also on my list) is well worth all that I get in return. You can't have it all, and trying is just going to make your life miserable. If you're happy where you are, then that's what's impor…

I hear you on that. I mean that I currently have these things and don't want to sacrifice them, but I seriously am unsure if it's possible to have them in the Bay. If it's not, as I'm coming to expect, I doubt I'll ever consider the switch. I definitely won't for the pay at a startup or the like.

It's very difficult. Whole classes of hobbies are more or less out of the question in the Bay just because of the high cost of housing. If you play the game for a few years, some doors open up but it's never going to be as straightforward as it would be in a low COL area. You'll end up using more shared spaces and possibly need to sacrifice on the commute front to buy more spacious housing.

On the other hand, new venues open up due to the larger amounts of cash on hand. More expensive travel or dining, for example.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#544

Post by geoelectric »

oarabbus_ wrote: post #517
abalone wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The gold standard is probably Kaiser for CA residents. I love your post but I almost shat myself when I read this. Kaiser is convenient but not top ranked in much. The gold standard is a PPO that lets you go anywhere (else) you like incl. top specialists + a membership primary care network like OneMedical for convenience. (By the way, I support Medicare4All. Good healthcare shouldn’t just be for wealthy FAANG engin…

Kaiser is awful. Sutter and Palo Alto Medical Foundation IME are far superior. I've used these 3 systems.

Thought PAMF was a part of Sutter Health?

Anyway, I agree with you. Kaiser is convenient, but the standard of care of HMO-nominal (i.e. poor).

I've used PPOs with PAMF for lots of years now, and it's been far better than Kaiser no matter who my actual insurance provider was.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#545

Post by tikiman163 »

Bahamut wrote: post #400
cletus wrote: post #171

As a FAANG engineer going on 9 years now, let me address the usual rebuttals: - There is a selection bias. Nope, this is pretty much accurate. - These aren't real. Yes, yes they are. - Self-reporters are lying. Maybe some do but these numbers are pretty accurate. If anything, I question Lyft and Airbnb as such outliers. I wonder if this factored in Lyft's post-IPO stock performance and makes unrealistic valuations of…

100% agree - I joined a FAANG company 2.5 years ago and was given a $280k package as a mid-level. After two annual review cycles, I currently make $318k. My initial RSU grant is about to hit double what it was ($105k initially), and my refresh RSU grants are close to hitting 50% above their initial value (two grants of $125k) still as a mid-level. Benefits like 401k matching and ESPP stock purchasing also push up eff…

Unlimited PTO is bs because when you give unlimited time off people usually request less time off, and companies don't have to pay you for unused time off when you leave. The potential to punish for taking time off isn't a thing anywhere I worked that had the unlimited deal, but the result was typically that the average employee would rarely ask for more than 8 days a year because they didn't feel like they had anything worth taking time off for and there was no use it or lose it mentality either.

Unlimited PTO is always in the company's favor because even if you try asking for more time off than you might have been granted your manager can simply claim that now isn't a good time, or say too many people have asked for the same days off, or point out that others haven't taken as much time off so they should get more time off before you do and because it doesn't risk you not using limited time off they can feel like it's not a problem and it leaves you with no way to prove a loss.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#546

Post by dmode »

segmondy wrote: post #471

It's really not that much money. I'm in the Midwest by the way and have explored moving to Bay area. But here's the reality. Contribute to 401k $19k small 3 bedroom house for family with decent schools - $5k/month - $60k a year Daycare $4k/month - $48k a year Health Insurance, Household Expenses, Food, etc $5k/month - $60k a year Car/gasoline $12k a year Assume 0 savings that's $180k post tax $360k before tax + $19k…

These numbers are wildly inaccurate. Public schools are free and my kids daycare is $1500/month. 48k health insurance ? I pay $200 per paycheck for Kaiser for a family of 3. Other expenses are all relative and not that different from living in a low COL. Living in Bay Area, you can easily save $200k per year at $400k salary

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#547

Post by poulsbohemian »

exclipy wrote: post #541
jcadam wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the last few years I've taken to blowing off recruiters from SV (including FAANG companies). I'm earning very good money for a software engineer where I live, but... dang, "other-worldly" is a good term for the money you people make. OTOH, being forced to live in California is a huge downside to any FAANG job (for me, anyway).

We need to cut the myth that these salaries only exist in Silicon Valley. Seattle and NYC also offer otherworldly packages. Google (and probably other FAANGs) also pay extremely well in Boston, Los Angeles, Boulder, Chicago, Austin and Zurich/Switzerland.

Yes - but try Des Moines or Missoula or Boise or even Portland, OR (a growing tech hub) and these salary levels are hard to hit. And, outside of the FAANGs the salaries are a step down just about everywhere.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#548

Post by exclipy »

alistairSH wrote: post #409
_dark_matter_ wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, by the numbers: 400k salary - 129k taxes - 72k housing (~1.2M dollar house) = ~200k left over Just off that alone, the 400k blows the $130k out of the water, no matter where in the country the $130k is living.

Does $1.2M put you within walking distance of any of the FAANG headquarters? I'm looking at Mountain View, and it appears it's more like $3M to live close to Google. There isn't anything listed (Zillow) close to Infinite Loop, Cupertino. What is listed is $1.8M+. Just curious, as I currently walk to work and that's a massive QOL issue for me. Sitting in traffic even 60 minutes/day would be awful.

I rent a studio in NYC for $2500/mo ($30k/yr). It's within a 12 minute walk to Google and a 12 minute bike ride to FB. Also close are Amazon, Twitter, Spotify, Uber, etc.

You don't need to be at the company headquarters to make $500k a year. Not being at the headquarters is only a problem if you want to get past director level ($1.5 M/yr)

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#549

Post by chaostheory »

nostrademons wrote: post #450
abalone wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The gold standard is probably Kaiser for CA residents. I love your post but I almost shat myself when I read this. Kaiser is convenient but not top ranked in much. The gold standard is a PPO that lets you go anywhere (else) you like incl. top specialists + a membership primary care network like OneMedical for convenience. (By the way, I support Medicare4All. Good healthcare shouldn’t just be for wealthy FAANG engin…

Kaiser varies significantly based on which center you end up in. I've heard very good things about the Redwood City location and very bad things about Santa Clara. There're probably similar variations among its other hospitals. YMMV. I've been on various Anthem PPOs of varying quality (Google's covered basically everything with zero copay or deductible, their individual plan wouldn't even cover my PCP, my wife's plan…

I’ve heard bad things about both their Santa Clara and Redwood City locations. I’ve also experienced bad things in their RWC location. For example, I was always exhausted and I requested a sleep study. What I got from Kaiser was a crappy take home gadget that detected no abnormalities in my sleep. When I switched to PAMF, I got a real sleep study in a lab. They were able to diagnose breathing and snoring issues within 30 minutes. There are more stories from both coworkers and friends. Save yourself a headache, pay more for a better provider

The only advantage Kaiser has over many health care providers is price.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#550

Post by rolltiide »

thecleaner wrote: post #182
zuhayeer wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have plans to publish more information, but for now you can view salary information for a number of other companies on our main website: http://levels.fyi

I love levels.fyi. Will it be possible to specify which companies do or do not sponsor visas ?

use h1bdata.info to check if a company has sponsored an h1b in the past, it also shows compensation data

its pretty illuminating at small companies because you know exactly who the data is referring to

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