Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big • Hacker News Board

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#11

Post by hello_moto » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 4:51 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #9

t342 wrote: post #5

"Bansi Shah, 23, picked up her undergraduate diploma, then took a job at Lattice Engines, a small San Mateo startup, where she makes “near the top” of the company’s $80,000 to $130,000 range for an entry level product manager, plus equity" Is this the norm in silicon valley, entry level positions making close to 130k plus equity? If this is the exception great!, but where does someone go from there? If right out of s…

[deleted]

Article requires a little bit sensationalism.

Would people bite if they knew that Bansi had a master degree, amazing internships, smart, and has made incredible accomplishments?

Translation: she's probably top 1%. Not the norm/average.

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#12

Post by kmfrk » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 4:54 PM UTC

The salary listings in http://angel.co/jobs are a decent way to get an impression of the amount of money people are paid in the business. It's quite high by my standards.

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#13

Post by gxs » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 5:07 PM UTC

>>Still emerging from their student years, most have yet to translate their earnings into material tokens of success.

This sentence rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think it's a coincidence that the same people who command these salaries are the same people that would be smart enough to drive a Ford or Honda and not splurge on a 5-series.

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#14

Post by pork » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 5:15 PM UTC

gxs wrote: post #13

>>Still emerging from their student years, most have yet to translate their earnings into material tokens of success. This sentence rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think it's a coincidence that the same people who command these salaries are the same people that would be smart enough to drive a Ford or Honda and not splurge on a 5-series.

Now see, your comment rubs me the wrong way. After I got my first job, I splurged on a used 911 Turbo. It got terrible mileage, but made me smile every single day I drove it (which wasn't everyday).

Attitudes to money are varied, and the accumulation of wealth, like squirrel nuts, is not everyone's goal.

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#15

Post by gxs » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 5:18 PM UTC

victork2 wrote: post #3

Sorry to be cynical here but I see that the myriad of new Tech companies do all pretty much the same thing and users don't stick to their product. However at the end of the day these companies do not survive and I don't even know if workers see that fact. For Business Investors it's a typical situation where it's "Make a lot of cash, fast, SELL". They all know that the company is not going to survive past the buzz, b…

You know, I'm tired of hearing this. I live very comfortably and my total expenses are <$1500/mo. This might get a small bump if I go out more than usual in a particular month. But really, I wonder what everyone else does so differently.

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#16

Post by pp33 » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 5:34 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #9

t342 wrote: post #5

"Bansi Shah, 23, picked up her undergraduate diploma, then took a job at Lattice Engines, a small San Mateo startup, where she makes “near the top” of the company’s $80,000 to $130,000 range for an entry level product manager, plus equity" Is this the norm in silicon valley, entry level positions making close to 130k plus equity? If this is the exception great!, but where does someone go from there? If right out of s…

[deleted]

According to glass door, of the people who submitted salaries from Lattice, no one has salary of close to 130k of base income. So she definitely seems like an exception.

It must be awkward though having your co-workers know approximately what you make now. I would be uncomfortable.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Lattice-Engines-Salaries-E31...

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#17

Post by victork2 » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 6:24 PM UTC

gxs wrote: post #15

victork2 wrote: post #3

Sorry to be cynical here but I see that the myriad of new Tech companies do all pretty much the same thing and users don't stick to their product. However at the end of the day these companies do not survive and I don't even know if workers see that fact. For Business Investors it's a typical situation where it's "Make a lot of cash, fast, SELL". They all know that the company is not going to survive past the buzz, b…

You know, I'm tired of hearing this. I live very comfortably and my total expenses are <$1500/mo. This might get a small bump if I go out more than usual in a particular month. But really, I wonder what everyone else does so differently.

Agreed, but after Engineering studies you want to make "big money" if you go to SV. And if you read the article it is worded as such:

> "Her more than $70,000 salary, stock options and personal investment portfolio, though, go a long way to alleviate any parental concerns. " Which seems to be so much money that her parents forget their worries. What I am saying is, in term of SV salary that's not much to have 70k. Actually 75k in S.V. ~ 55k in Atlanta for example.

Personally I have a very good salary (> 70k) and I have way to much money per month. I don't buy gadgets or anything so yeah I am way below $1500 / mo.

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#18

Post by fam » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 6:25 PM UTC

tmurray wrote: post #10

jsnk wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Also 70k in Silicon Valley is not great. Living there is very expensive. Wow, I had no idea. Here in Canada, 70K in Canada is definitely above average for entry or junior level developers. I think high 50k to low 60k is around the average here for developers right out of college. How much is the average salary for established developers and entry-level developers around the Valley and the Bay area?

$85-100k seems to be about entry level for software engineers with a BS in CS from a good school at established companies in this area. My impression is that the Google/Facebook talent war has significantly increased this over the past few years.

I'm guessing these guys have several years internship experience and a load of side projects coming out of school? I know a few guys who came out with just a degree and 0 exp starting at around the mid $50k range.

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#19

Post by jsherry » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 6:31 PM UTC

"They go hiking rather than clubbing, look with a hint of impatience at their less social-media-savvy elders, are picky about their sushi and unhappy with iceberg lettuce."

There is nothing necessarily wrong or untrue about this statement, but it's definitely an unflattering generalization that made me chuckle during my lunchtime HN binge.

Re: Silicon Valley newcomers are still dreaming big

#20

Post by RobPfeifer » Wed, Jan 25, 2012, 6:45 PM UTC

This: “My guess is that at some point the music stops and we find out that there’s not just one less chair but hundreds of thousands of less chairs, and we’ll have thousands of kids who haven’t learned anything because they’re all expecting to learn from each other,” he said."

A lot of people are going to come out of this boom with less useful experience than is commonly assumed.