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Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

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Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#551

Post by rolltiide »

Waterluvian wrote: post #3

I do the job of a senior engineer and yet am paid a bit less than what's listed for an entry level engineer. And I live an incredibly comfy life. What's the catch? Are these for more than 40 hours a week? Is silicon valley really that expensive? Or are they literally giving college grads enough money to retire by 35?

> Or are they literally giving college grads enough money to retire by 35?

This is it.

All the answers about Bay Area Cost of Living are just as applicable for people making $150k and would be the same answers if those were the "high salaries" being paraded around.

All thats happened is that the tech sector has multiple of the largest publicly traded companies in the world, all in one place, and its brushing up against the compensation style that the finance sector has had for decades, which has always been divorced from cost of living and closer to the value brought to the organization. Its a good deal with a lot of potential to get better, or the market slows down and it gets worse.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#552

Post by rolltiide »

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…

but you know whats even worse? Making 1/3rd or 1/5th of that. Cheers.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#553

Post by fletchowns »

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).

> being forced to live in California is a huge downside to any FAANG job (for me, anyway)

You must not like being able to go snowboarding on a Saturday and surfing on a Sunday :)

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#554

Post by bovermyer »

rolltiide wrote: post #422
bovermyer wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly I don't think I'd switch. My current job is comfortable and interesting, despite the "low" salary. It also allows me the freedom to explore my own ideas and projects while maintaining really nice work/life balance. Numbers on paper don't tell the whole story.

if accredited investor status accounted for Cost of Living I would agree with you but the reality is that hard numbers, especially when they are 300% more, really do matter

Sure, but after a certain point, more money doesn't make much of a difference.

I travel enough. I go to plenty of good restaurants with my wife and friends. I can buy some fun toys. My retirement fund is in progress. I have no debt.

Would I turn down another hundred grand a year? No. Would I do much with it? No, it'd just go to investments, which I may or may not live long enough to use.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#555

Post by Redoubts »

overcast wrote: post #418
esoterica wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So? Not everyone is brainwashed by their banal suburban upbringing into thinking that home ownership is the highest state of enlightenment a human can achieve. I can afford to buy a place outright in cash but I still rent because I like the flexibility and have no interest in betting a large fraction of my net worth on the direction of real estate prices.

Thanks for the response, I appreciate the feedback. With that type of capital, wouldn't it be best to invest in real estate, and rent them yourself?

Dunno, what’s the return on property, less maintenance turnover and annual wealth taxes vs the market? What’s the risk of dumping so much capital into exactly one asset vs a stock portfolio?

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#556

Post by thundergolfer »

thatsenough wrote: post #222
thundergolfer wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> can buy smallish houses on the peninsula at $1.5-$2.5M a piece and have a middle-class quality of life. That's the same situation as in Sydney, but Aussie engineers aren't getting near the level of pay of Bay Area engineers. It's not the housing prices, it's more the labour market competition.

Yes, labor market competition is the primary factor. But is there a place in Australia where engineers can work for higher salaries and the same or a lower cost of living? In the US, the discrepancy between Bay Area and non-Bay Area salaries is not as great as they seem at first glance, once the real cost of living is factored in.

Yeah Melbourne has 1-3 companies where you can match your Sydney compensation, and Melbourne has a significantly cheaper property market.

But Melbourne has far fewer high-paying positions, so it's not really much of a help.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#557

Post by bradleyjg »

meritt wrote: post #80
huehehue wrote: post #53

What I'm taking away from this is that many (most) companies are grossly underpaying their engineers. I've been through the SF/NYC Senior SWE interviewing gauntlet twice in the past three years, and received 10+ offers at half this rate. Levels claims to be checking offer letters, which is great IMO. It's really hard for people to know they're being undervalued when the employers are low-balling and the self-reporter…

> many (most) companies are grossly underpaying their engineers. No, that's simply unfair to the companies who don't have billions of dollars in free cash flow or effectively infinite amounts of VC money. The top firms have gotten themselves into an insane bidding war which has a side effect of creating an oligopoly on talent, as it's simply unrealistic to impossible for many firms to compete. Not to mention they app…

> No, that's simply unfair to the companies

Maybe that's true of Walmart and GM, but your random A/B round startup? I don't think it is unfair at all. They could offer legitimate equity of they choose not to. Sure, it would be still be a gamble but at least it would be French roulette and not the West Virginia lottery.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#558

Post by jiveturkey »

skybrian wrote: post #139
solveit wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Under/overpaying has nothing to do with how much any particular firm has and everything to do with what other companies are willing to pay. If there's a bidding war, then whatever that produces is the fair market rate.

Yes, it's the market rate but no, that doesn't mean it's necessarily a good buy; it's set by the most optimistic buyer. Buyer's remorse is sometimes a thing in auctions too.

> it's set by the most optimistic buyer.

No, it's set by the least optimistic seller.

That's the reason we have labor unions -- to stop those that otherwise would work for low wages and/or in deplorable conditions, from doing so. Thus undercutting those that "hold out" for fair wages and conditions.

Think about it. If the entire graduating BSCS class of 2020 banded together and declared they would not work for less than $400k/yr starting, FAANG would simply have to pay that (they have the cash). It's because there's one dipshit willing to work for $250k TC that all the rest have to take that salary as well.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#560

Post by rolltiide »

bovermyer wrote: post #554
rolltiide wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if accredited investor status accounted for Cost of Living I would agree with you but the reality is that hard numbers, especially when they are 300% more, really do matter

Sure, but after a certain point, more money doesn't make much of a difference. I travel enough. I go to plenty of good restaurants with my wife and friends. I can buy some fun toys. My retirement fund is in progress. I have no debt. Would I turn down another hundred grand a year? No. Would I do much with it? No, it'd just go to investments, which I may or may not live long enough to use.

nah, I want to be able to make the same amount annually from interest alone, I want to be able to afford appeals court for any civil or criminal issue, I want a total exemption from the socio-economic woes of the proletariat such as the privilege of switching fielty to nations when convenient or preferred, a total exemption from ever needing to split assets built in a marriage because they would have never been built in a marriage or at least no real impact to an actual nest egg since they existed beforehand
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