Funny to see this today - my own boss resigned last month and we've been interviewing for his replacement. I haven't decided whether or not to apply for his position; I don't want all of his responsibilities but I do want to keep the autonomy that I've gained since he left.
I've hired my own manager several times now (I'm told this is a bad practice) specifically because I wanted to remain a tech lead but needed somebody to advocate for my team and handle the people management time. It has in fact worked spectacularly.
There isn't a tax bracket in the US where most of any income goes to taxes. There should be though!
So in California we were losing about half of our money to taxes, its always fun to make estimated tax payments when you received your quarterly RSUs(~40% of the RSU money goes to taxes when you get them) and then with the rest putting half of that towards a quarterly tax payment, we left the state to avoid the stranglehold of taxes and will probably go to 1 income as two high earners just isn't worth it, but if you…
I'm not sure about tech salaries, but based on several surveys, it would appear that effective tax rate for most workers is about the same between european countries and united states. They just spend less on defense, and more on social programs (although some countries have very recently increased defense spending). California taxes are extremely high though, I agree.
I wouldn't want my bosses job. I don't think it pays all that much more than mine but it requires a lot of days full of meetings and late nights. I may even do better on a hourly basis. I think some people get wrapped up in the headline salary number (XXX,XXX per year, that's a lot of money!) and never break it down into a hourly number to see if it's actually a better deal.
What people don't realize is the job that pays 30% or so more than your current job requires alot more work and a ton more stress, and for me that is not worth the extra money - which by the way most of which goes to taxes anyway. I really feel like it doesn't "pay" to move up in an org mainly due to the extremely high tax hit along with stress the title comes with.
this is literally what my dad told me (when I asked him why he didn't go for his boss's job). The marginal effort was large compared to the marginal revenue, and that would eat into quality of life for him.
I think if I were homeless, a FAANG SWE job would definitely be greener.
Ah except it doesnt go directly from brown -> (supposed) green in one step :) It is a whole bunch of slightly browner shade transforms. (Missing a few intermediate steps and no dissing on any of the stages) it might be something like: Homeless -> Volunteer worker -> Govt job -> Non Faang -> Faang -> Enlightened that you missing out on life.
A lack of ability to imagine something shouldn't cause someone to believe it can't happen. There are any number of ways someone can go homeless including under the conditions of having the skills to program. I've been able to program since I was 12 and definitely could've gone homeless any time between now and around 3 years ago (which is nearly 2 decades of time).
Speaking of bosses and managers; do people think that people management is overrated and not that important as managers and managers’ managers claim?
I really wish middle engineering management had some technical clue and drive some technical initiatives instead.
I wouldn't want my bosses job. I don't think it pays all that much more than mine but it requires a lot of days full of meetings and late nights. I may even do better on a hourly basis. I think some people get wrapped up in the headline salary number (XXX,XXX per year, that's a lot of money!) and never break it down into a hourly number to see if it's actually a better deal.
It's funny how fast and profoundly "perspective" will hit you. When I was a young programmer I always dreamed of that promotion and comp adjustment. Constantly looking for that next step. That's not inherently bad, per se, but once you reach a particular place you come to find out what the commensurate responsibility looks like. Sometimes -- dare I say, often? -- it's just not fun. That's what they pay you for, thoug…
That's why I've never gone into management. It's not an honor to be a manager, it's a skill - and that's not a skill I want to develop. Better to work for a company that recognizes technical talent is a skill that's at least as-important as management and will financially compensate accordingly for that skill.
Ah except it doesnt go directly from brown -> (supposed) green in one step :) It is a whole bunch of slightly browner shade transforms. (Missing a few intermediate steps and no dissing on any of the stages) it might be something like: Homeless -> Volunteer worker -> Govt job -> Non Faang -> Faang -> Enlightened that you missing out on life.
A lack of ability to imagine something shouldn't cause someone to believe it can't happen. There are any number of ways someone can go homeless including under the conditions of having the skills to program. I've been able to program since I was 12 and definitely could've gone homeless any time between now and around 3 years ago (which is nearly 2 decades of time).
I remember when homeless employees working for Google made headlines. People had good paying jobs, couldn't afford housing - or at least didn't desire to put the entirety of their income into housing. Looks like things may be headed back that way again.
I caught this perspective early, and would be very clear in interviews that I didn't ever want to be a manager. I had a lot of interviewers ask, "Don't you have any ambition?" My answer was always that I did, I got to where I wanted to be, and I intend to stay there. I'm a programmer. I program. Ambition realized. And with the money that programmers make, it seems even more ridiculous to suggest that I had no ambitio…
I’m in this position as well, but over time I’m becoming more concerned about getting pushed out of independent contribution by ageism.
Learn and do things other people say are hard, and that you find interesting.
I wouldn't want my bosses job. I don't think it pays all that much more than mine but it requires a lot of days full of meetings and late nights. I may even do better on a hourly basis. I think some people get wrapped up in the headline salary number (XXX,XXX per year, that's a lot of money!) and never break it down into a hourly number to see if it's actually a better deal.
100%. In big tech, as you get more senior, the job becomes miserable. I wouldn’t want to be a Director, or even a Senior Staff engineer. At a certain point you sacrifice your sanity to be in that many meetings.
I think it really depends on the type of big tech you’re talking about.
Being senior staff often means $800k+ comp. I’d gladly take that over the $400k senior ranges. Directors are past $1m.
It’s a huge pay bump - not just 20% to go into management and more managerial roles. It pays.
Ah except it doesnt go directly from brown -> (supposed) green in one step :) It is a whole bunch of slightly browner shade transforms. (Missing a few intermediate steps and no dissing on any of the stages) it might be something like: Homeless -> Volunteer worker -> Govt job -> Non Faang -> Faang -> Enlightened that you missing out on life.
A lack of ability to imagine something shouldn't cause someone to believe it can't happen. There are any number of ways someone can go homeless including under the conditions of having the skills to program. I've been able to program since I was 12 and definitely could've gone homeless any time between now and around 3 years ago (which is nearly 2 decades of time).
You are spot on. The "progression" I gave an example is (mean to be) fully free of any judgement or superiority etc. Any of us can go homeless in an instant (eg FAANG eng buys a crazy expensive house on a H1B, suddenly looses job in a bad market). My point was that when someone is going through those stages, assuming you had never been in a advanced stage etc, a linear path means you are incrementally loosing a part of yourself and you dont realize it until the end. Does that make sense?