It’s incredible that in some part of the world the programmers are called “nerds” but in San Francisco are millionaires.
more like tens or hundreds of millions-aires
$900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
81–90 of 351 posts
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#82Now the problem is how to get into this kind of companies. Is LC hard mandatory for junior-senior (below lead) IC job?
I've never looked into their interview process, but considering what they have created I would guess that their coding problems go way beyond leetcode.
Definitely. But do they hire people who can immediately start groking those problems or grow them? I guess they are also picky about colleges too?
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not stock PPUs which are only worth anything if they turn a profit and according to OpenAI that isn’t happening until AGI. https://www.levels.fyi/blog/openai-compensation.html
OpenAI PPUs are no different than stock in a growing-but-unprofitable company like old Amazon. You don't have to wait for dividends; you can sell your PPUs to speculators who expect returns in the future.
It’s completely different. I can sell my RSUs in AMZN as soon as they vest on the public market at market price.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#84Based on what I've seen/heard, they seem to follow a similar comp philosophy to Netflix -- pay top of market to get the best people. But it's also important to note that only $300K of that is in cash. The other $600K is in profit participation, which could take years (maybe even a decade!) to be realized. It could also be worth $6M a year when it's realized. But ultimately it's an investment of your time. Or to think…
No, Netflix pays top of market like you said “in cash”. Paying “profit sharing” in a company that isn’t profitable isn’t nearly as valuable. Edit: I love this analogy > Or to think of it another way, you're getting paid $900K a year but you're also investing $600K a year in OpenAI, which may end up being an amazing return or nothing at all, just like any startup investment. Would someone invest 2/3rds of their compen…
I feel like person you're replying to specifically implied that OpenAI does it differently in that aspect, and they were also high up at Netflix so is likely very familiar :)
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#85It's always interesting to think about how someone somewhere is earning as much as you earn in a decade or lifetime in a single year. Also that you are that person for someone else.
What I find more interesting is this: A sole proprietor landscaper making $45-50K a year in California is paying $675 a year in annual registration fees just to keep his newish pickup truck on the road. Why newish? Because the people he's servicing trust a guy with a nicer work vehicle than a beaten down 30 year old Tacoma. A $900k developer with the same pickup is also paying $675 a year. Extrapolate this seemingly…
which is why billionaires are an indictment to our system.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#86Based on what I've seen/heard, they seem to follow a similar comp philosophy to Netflix -- pay top of market to get the best people. But it's also important to note that only $300K of that is in cash. The other $600K is in profit participation, which could take years (maybe even a decade!) to be realized. It could also be worth $6M a year when it's realized. But ultimately it's an investment of your time. Or to think…
Honestly, if you take 300k home, the risk isn't that high. But the reward is insane.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#87It's too bad about their outdated stance on remote work. They could pay $2m and many of the best engineers still wouldn't consider working there on that point alone.
Oh no, I will let Sam know right away!
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#887-figure total comp is common for E6 and very common for E7 engineers at Meta. A stock being a significant part of course.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
Paying someone a lot doesn't magically make them a good engineer. You have to actually hire the best people, and there's only so many of them to go around.
I'm sympathetic to this argument, because I know both low-quality and high-quality engineers at most FAANGs, but in principle isn't offering a lot of money a good way to attract talent? In the case of OpenAI you also have interesting tech and a brand that will massively accelerate your career if you want to stay in that field. So while yeah, you have to hire the best people; and OpenAI like everyone else will be payi…
> but in principle isn't offering a lot of money a good way to attract talent?
offering a lot of money attracts everyone including in-demand talent.
offering less turns away in-demand talent.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, the first part of the philosophy, pay top of market. Not the second part, where they employee gets to choose their level of exposure to investment risk. But Netflix is a public company, and OpenAI is not.
If I can’t use “the pay” to exchange for goods and services when I earn it, it’s not “pay”
Obviously wrong - a company car or a gym membership plan are part of your pay even though you can't use either to pay for goods and services