Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you might want to reexamine the market. I'm several multiples more than $250k and have a BS and ~15 years of experience working in web development.
Where do you work?
Not FAANG or related.
Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
471–480 of 515 posts
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#472Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately I have a family member that depends on consistent medical insurance. It is one thing to do what I find happy, it is another thing to take care of others.
I’m sorry to hear that. In a certain way staying, then, means maximizing happiness (decent job plus consistent medical insurance >= new job)
No worries. Tough times don't last, tough people do.
Just think how the US workforce would look if people could do what they love, versus working only because of the benefits.
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#473Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel like this is the most illuminating comment in this thread, so, thank you. That said, if I can choose between receiving $600k in cash today, and receiving $600k worth of public company stock today with restrictions on when I can sell it, then I will choose the cash, because it is worth AT LEAST AS MUCH as the public company stock (because, again, cash is freely exchangeable to public company stock without restr…
If you feel that there's a good chance that the stock of the company you're working for is going to tank, take that as a sign that you should work somewhere else ;)
> If you feel that there's a good chance that the stock of the company you're working for is going to tank, take that as a sign that you should work somewhere else ;)
If you get $600k in cash, and you immediately exchange that into $600k in company stock (with no restrictions on when you can sell that stock), how could that possibly be a worse deal than getting $600k in company stock with restrictions on when you can sell?
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#474Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s not at least as good as stock, it’s worse in most markets. Because your stock is appreciating before you’re allowed to sell it but the cash is depreciating to inflation.
If you receive $100k worth of stock, you receive $100k worth of stock. If you receive X amount of stock that vests in 1 year, and at that time point it happens to be worth $150k, then you didn't receive $100k worth of stock, you received $150k worth of stock. The question wasn't about comparing $150k worth of stock to $100k cash, the question was about comparing $100k worth of stock to $100k cash.
Every company I know of with the exception of Stripe and Coinbase have 4 year equity grants. In the real world you'd receive a 400k a grant that vests over 4 years. For most white collar workers who don't need the money to pay bills the 400k grant is worth more than an extra 100k a year in salary.
It's a free call option on the stock. If it goes up you keep vesting at the new stock price which might be way above market rate for you position and if it goes down you get refreshers at the end of the year to bring you back to a market rate salary.
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#475Earlier quoted context omitted.
Incredibly untrue. I’m sorry that your particular company saw a 60% decrease in stock price over 3 years. But this is not the norm for any reasonably healthy company.
I think many people on HN may be too young to remember the early 2000s, when you’d kill someone for your stock price to be down only 60% over 3 years, but it absolutely happens to good companies too.
You aren't guaranteed your salary either though and in many of those cases in the 2000's workers were laid off. Being paid entirely in cash salary doesn't make you immune to market turbulence.
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#476Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you feel that there's a good chance that the stock of the company you're working for is going to tank, take that as a sign that you should work somewhere else ;)
> If you feel that there's a good chance that the stock of the company you're working for is going to tank, take that as a sign that you should work somewhere else ;) If you get $600k in cash, and you immediately exchange that into $600k in company stock (with no restrictions on when you can sell that stock), how could that possibly be a worse deal than getting $600k in company stock with restrictions on when you can…
Seems like a strawman, as no company is giving you the cash as a lump sum payment like that up front. Even if you get the option, which mostly you don't, it's between:
1. A grant at $Xk, converted to shares on start date and vesting proportionally over 4 years
or...
2. A salary bump equivalent to the grant in (1), paid out ~bi-weekly at (1/104)*$Xk. 104 being the amount of bi-weekly pay periods to occur over a 4 year span.
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#477Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is literally the opposite of reality. The private/VC market is not relevant here. We’re strictly talking about publicly traded companies.
No this is actually true. Most stocks do go down (or at least only match much less risky investments like short-term bonds), but the stock market goes up because some stocks go up a lot. This is why all investors diversify. For example, the Russel 3000 Index goes up ~10% a year because they remove bad stocks and replace them with ones that seem better. But, employment at a single company with stock-based compensation…
I agree the stock market has positive skew but in your career you will have enough bets to smooth out the effects of betting on a single stock. Additionally, you're not really making the same bet as an equity investor because your bet has optionality. Your downside is capped at less than a year in loss earnings because if the stock goes down and the company cannot bring you back up to market rate you just switch companies. If the stock goes up, you enjoy 4 years of above market compensation before getting reset to market rate.
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#478Earlier quoted context omitted.
The trick with equity isn't about making it big at IPO. That rarely happens for most. Go to an established company that does stock RSUs and if you prove your worth the the RSUs will follow. They can be worth a lot from established "boring" companies.
Can we make an example of those "boring" companies?
Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce, IBM, SAP etc... You also have the arguably less boring but equally stable and more lucrative options like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple.
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#479Leverage. If your work improves the productivity of 100+ other people, you're surely worth the price. If your work saves $500k+ in annual costs, you're surely worth the price. If hiring you cripples key competitors, you're surely worth the price. If you can enable new revenues streams through knowledge that only you have, you're surely worth the price. If hiring you does not increase productivity, reduce costs, fend…
> EDIT: And if you're outside of the US, set up a local LLC so that US-based companies can treat you like an independent contracting business. By local, do you mean a US-based company (eg delaware), or local to where you are?
If you're not a US person the best setup would be a single-member LLC in a state like Wyoming (Delaware is more for corporations). I currently have an LLC and if you structure it well you could even get all the perks of being incorporated in the US while paying 0 taxes (pass-through taxation). Check out firstbase.io, they can handle all the bureaucracy for you.
Re: Ask HN: Strategies to land fully remote $250k+ job
#480$250k. Wow. I'd have to say you'd need multiple doctorates, you'd written at least one book that every programmer regards as "The" reference manual, and gotten a Nobel Prize for something. I've been writing software professionally since 1979 and I'm at not quite 3/4 of your goal. Maybe location and choice of tool set has something to do with it. Good luck.
I think you might want to reexamine the market. I'm several multiples more than $250k and have a BS and ~15 years of experience working in web development.
Please don't take it personally, but that's hard for me to swallow. I've probably got coffee mugs that are older than you from places where I've written code.
And thus does the clueless old man fade off into the sunset ....