91–100 of 214 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
GitLab doesn't charge based on the location of their customers.
Never thought about this, but man, very much this.
Still paying according to location for the same work?
What's the problem with that? If Gitlab is not paying top of the market salaries, then they're just going to miss out on top talent, and clearly they're fine with it. It's a free market after all, you don't have to join Gitlab.
The problem is that when I saw their compensation tables for Mexico, their offer was going to cut my salary by about 30% of what I was actually earning (I think it was about $70k USD annual at most, I cannot find the calculator now), in another US company with an office in my hometown. Instead, I went to another US company which is also remote, and got a pay bump to $140,000 USD, working from my country.
I am not asking to get paid in FAANG Valley salaries ($400k+) but even paying me 50%-60% of what they pay to someoneone in the US makes a win-win situation IMHO.
I appreciate a lot of what Gitlab has done, but as someone who has been permanently remote for nearly a decade, I don't really consider them to be a leader in remote work. One of my biggest issues with Gitlab is that they pay based on locality, many other fully remote companies pay below Bay Area salaries, but they pay flat globally, meaning you can be location-independent without a pay-cut and it helps to bring in h…
"But you would make so much more than your neighbors!". Fuck off with that noise. I don't care what my neighbors make, I care what the company is earning from my labor and getting my fair share. I have no problem extorting more from a company that has no problem extorting more from me.
You also won't see this for senior management. As a VP/C-level, I've never had a potential employer put pressure on salary during a negotiation because of my location (though it's always been domestic). It's never even come up besides relocation discussions.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just a few months ago this[0] jobs platform for exactly that - remote, location-independent salary - was discussed on HN [1]. [0] https://remotewide.co/ [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31225138
Ok I will bite. I randomly checked one company called "MotorK" [0] and I found this line in the job description "Work remotely from any of the countries we operate in". So thats not work from anywhere in the world. I am sure devil is always in the details. I know this is 1 example but I doubt a company will hire from anywhere in the world and pay the same salaries to you. There always will be restrictions. Ok now I a…
I appreciate a lot of what Gitlab has done, but as someone who has been permanently remote for nearly a decade, I don't really consider them to be a leader in remote work. One of my biggest issues with Gitlab is that they pay based on locality, many other fully remote companies pay below Bay Area salaries, but they pay flat globally, meaning you can be location-independent without a pay-cut and it helps to bring in h…
Locally-adjusted pay is a fluke if revenues are not locally constrained (like a coffee shop). It's just another way employers try and nickle and dime workers, and it's sad that a large class of workers have been brainwashed to support it because somehow they're more upset at the other workers making more, than the company trying to pull a fast on on them. "But you would make so much more than your neighbors!". Fuck o…
This is absolutely true and it's because executives usually have spent at least some amount of time doing "sales" type roles where they learn what value selling is. I always do value selling during my salary negotiations, and I too pretty much concern myself only with how much I bring to the table and what a fair cut of that for myself is. My location has absolutely nothing to do with that, and I've delivered a ton of value in my career from far more remote locations than most remote workers find themselves in.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's in your own personal definition of remote work that people should be paid an universal salary. Gitlab might not be a world leader in salaries, but they might very well be a world leader in providing the best remote work environment to their employees.
can it really be "best" if you're treated unequally just because live somewhere different?
I appreciate a lot of what Gitlab has done, but as someone who has been permanently remote for nearly a decade, I don't really consider them to be a leader in remote work. One of my biggest issues with Gitlab is that they pay based on locality, many other fully remote companies pay below Bay Area salaries, but they pay flat globally, meaning you can be location-independent without a pay-cut and it helps to bring in h…
You build less real estate equity. And there is less room for saving cash.
In general, living in very expensive cities is great for saving cash if your salary is proportionally higher. Saving 10% of a median Lisbon salary is a lot less than 10% of a median SF salary.
Their pay was abysmally low last time I applied. The company seems cool but the salaries as a senior were honestly kind of silly in this market.
Then you missed the biggest advantage of remote only: they can hire from any market.
I appreciate a lot of what Gitlab has done, but as someone who has been permanently remote for nearly a decade, I don't really consider them to be a leader in remote work. One of my biggest issues with Gitlab is that they pay based on locality, many other fully remote companies pay below Bay Area salaries, but they pay flat globally, meaning you can be location-independent without a pay-cut and it helps to bring in h…
Locally-adjusted pay is a fluke if revenues are not locally constrained (like a coffee shop). It's just another way employers try and nickle and dime workers, and it's sad that a large class of workers have been brainwashed to support it because somehow they're more upset at the other workers making more, than the company trying to pull a fast on on them. "But you would make so much more than your neighbors!". Fuck o…
This just feels naive to me. You aren't being paid based on what your labor is earning your company. That number is totally irrelevant in a world in which businesses can run on VC money instead of actual revenue. You are paid based of both yours and your employers next best alternative. The reason people in high cost of living areas have traditionally had higher salaries is because there are more jobs in high cost of living areas and therefore more alternatives for potential employees. It is easier for an engineer in the Bay Area to get a competitive offer than it is for an engineer in Akron, Ohio. That is why companies in Akron pay less, there are fewer employers there looking to hire developers.
While I understand all the arguments about fairness, we can't ignore that all these companies are purely responding to capitalist incentives. If we demand they pay employees the same regardless of location, the wage rate they pay will drop. This is because there are more developers living in low cost of living areas willing to work for that set price than in high cost of living areas. Why would a tech company hire a developer in San Francisco for $300k when they can get a similar one for $100k in Akron? That company isn't suddenly going to be generous and decide that the employee in Akron deserves $300k too. They are going to decide that cost of living shouldn't matter and maybe pay everyone $110k. Sure, that improves the situation for people living in Akron, but does it improve the situation for developers as a whole?