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We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

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Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#81

Post by dilat »

thatguy0900 wrote: post #39
cyrux004 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct, this what I understand. Before the remote workplace, they were just too comfy in their location to think about locating to the limited tech cities where these salaries are being paid

I mean, I'll be honest, I make around 50k in a non tech job in a low cost of living area.i really don't want for anything. Maybe I just don't like really expensive toys, but anything I want, I buy. I go on nice vacations in country, plenty of wilderness around me. I don't have to look at receipts or bills before paying them and I never think about my bank account. I'm really totally unsure what making 500k instead wo…

Isn’t retiring early exactly what it offers? A 500k job would pay the equivalent of ten years of work (ish… taxes).

Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#82

Post by lapaz17 »

borroka wrote: post #61
zests wrote: post #25

It feels like there are two classes of engineers in the US. One class of engineers makes 60k-120k and the other makes 150k-500k. Is this just a really well kept secret? I don't really see many engineers trying to migrate from the first class to the second class. I'd expect most software engineers would jump through hoops at the prospect of doubling their salary.

For every job that it's open in one of the FAANG, recruiters get thousands of applications. It sounds like many are trying, but the vast majority never gets a call back. Others cannot pass the interview. Others again are not interested in working in a very demanding environment. I worked at a FAANGs, now I work in lower-tier tech company. I make 3/4 (low-ish upper tier) of what I used to make, I work 1/8 of the hours…

Omg. Could you share your company in private?

Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#83

Post by swiftcoder »

dilat wrote: post #81
thatguy0900 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, I'll be honest, I make around 50k in a non tech job in a low cost of living area.i really don't want for anything. Maybe I just don't like really expensive toys, but anything I want, I buy. I go on nice vacations in country, plenty of wilderness around me. I don't have to look at receipts or bills before paying them and I never think about my bank account. I'm really totally unsure what making 500k instead wo…

Isn’t retiring early exactly what it offers? A 500k job would pay the equivalent of ten years of work (ish… taxes).

Not for most people. A silicon valley job means a silicon valley house and mortgage - you're in for at least a couple of million for a house in those parts, and it'll be fairly modest by US standards. If you have kids, you have silicon valley school fees and activities. And since all your new friends are silicon valley friends with silicon valley money in their pocket, all your own activities are going to grow more expensive too.

If you don't make a very conscious decision to step off that flywheel, a lot of people find themselves in the position where that 500k is mostly going to maintain your new normal lifestyle.

Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#84

Post by swiftcoder »

6gvONxR4sf7o wrote: post #79

I'm curious how people here advise specifically negotiating work-life balance? WLB (fewer hours per week/more vacation) is the single most important factor for me, but I always feel weird asking/pushing for it because it feels like I'll give a slacker impression. Even asking how many hours a team works feels delicate.

FAANGs literally won't negotiate this sort of thing (we've all tried). If you are applying somewhere that isn't offering FAANG comp, it seems a fair play during negotiations.

You know, "this offer is a little lower than I was hoping for, but if you can throw in an extra week of vacation time we have a deal"

Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#85

Post by trav4225 »

theflyinghorse wrote: post #76
zests wrote: post #25

It feels like there are two classes of engineers in the US. One class of engineers makes 60k-120k and the other makes 150k-500k. Is this just a really well kept secret? I don't really see many engineers trying to migrate from the first class to the second class. I'd expect most software engineers would jump through hoops at the prospect of doubling their salary.

> Is this just a really well kept secret It's very hard. Not having FANG/unicorns on your resume probably contributes massively to this. FANG style interviews are a skill of their own - I recently had a 6 hours of interviews back to back with Amazon and it was a mix of pretty tough technical questions and very specific behavioral questions. Even with practice solving sole of the question was very hard. For instance,…

Yeah, personally, I constantly receive calls from FAANGs for interviews, but I pass on them all. My current lack of free time to work on interview prep is the sole reason. I almost feel like it's impossible to find the time to prep without quitting my current job first... :-/

What's always been a little baffling to me, though, is how easily these companies hire fresh grads. I have several friends that walked straight into FAANG jobs right out of school with little more than a couple quick phone interviews. One recruiter told me that the bar is lower for fresh grads because they can be more easily molded into the company culture.

Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#86

Post by thebean11 »

swiftcoder wrote: post #83
dilat wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t retiring early exactly what it offers? A 500k job would pay the equivalent of ten years of work (ish… taxes).

Not for most people. A silicon valley job means a silicon valley house and mortgage - you're in for at least a couple of million for a house in those parts, and it'll be fairly modest by US standards. If you have kids, you have silicon valley school fees and activities. And since all your new friends are silicon valley friends with silicon valley money in their pocket, all your own activities are going to grow more e…

The house can be sold though, not exactly "spent" money beyond the buying/selling/maintenance fees

Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#87

Post by extesy »

pumaontheprowl wrote: post #60
bern4444 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought Netflix let you pick the exact split between cash and equity no? For example, for a 500k salary you could say, I want 200k cash, and 300k in stock

Something doesn't add up here. Levels is showing that the average senior engineer at Netflix is only getting $11k stock though. If employees were allowed to choose what percentage stock they wanted, I'd expect most employees to choose a larger percentage than that. Stock is likely to grow in value over the course of the year while cash is almost guaranteed to lose value due to inflation. You'd have to be pretty pessi…

You can always buy NFLX with cash in your brokerage account. It's not like you are going to get any discounts if you choose to receive part of your salary in stock.

Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#88

Post by tester756 »

trav4225 wrote: post #85
theflyinghorse wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is this just a really well kept secret It's very hard. Not having FANG/unicorns on your resume probably contributes massively to this. FANG style interviews are a skill of their own - I recently had a 6 hours of interviews back to back with Amazon and it was a mix of pretty tough technical questions and very specific behavioral questions. Even with practice solving sole of the question was very hard. For instance,…

Yeah, personally, I constantly receive calls from FAANGs for interviews, but I pass on them all. My current lack of free time to work on interview prep is the sole reason. I almost feel like it's impossible to find the time to prep without quitting my current job first... :-/ What's always been a little baffling to me, though, is how easily these companies hire fresh grads. I have several friends that walked straight…

dafq

so, If I'm fresh grad with 3 years of commercial, full time experience, then it'd be better for me to lie that I have no experience? :o

Re: We're Levels.fyi, the most accurate resource for tech salaries, ask us anything

#90

Post by trav4225 »

tester756 wrote: post #88
trav4225 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, personally, I constantly receive calls from FAANGs for interviews, but I pass on them all. My current lack of free time to work on interview prep is the sole reason. I almost feel like it's impossible to find the time to prep without quitting my current job first... :-/ What's always been a little baffling to me, though, is how easily these companies hire fresh grads. I have several friends that walked straight…

dafq so, If I'm fresh grad with 3 years of commercial, full time experience, then it'd be better for me to lie that I have no experience? :o

I dunno. I think they just treat fresh grads differently. They probably look more at one's graduation date than at one's (lack of) experience at that point. They want really fresh meat. ;-)

My views here are purely anecdotal, and based only on interactions with former peers (students) and something an Amazon recruiter told me at one point.

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