Unpopular opinion: OpenAI is severely underpaying these folks at 900k considering so many asset managers / PMs in finance basically hug S&P 500 and get 1.5m+
Any engineer holding equity before November of 2022 is surely going to be worth > 10M
$900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
171–180 of 351 posts
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honestly, if you take 300k home, the risk isn't that high. But the reward is insane.
To be realistic ... 300K in the bay is barely livable if you're targeting a middle class life with kids and targeting retiring at 65. First, ~46% of it is gone in taxes including federal tax (~25%), state tax (~8%), FICA (~4%), and sales tax on everything you eventually use the money for (~9%). So that's 162K left. Not a lot to pay sky-high rents, car payments, insane medical bills despite insurance, lawyers to fight…
> To be realistic ... 300K in the bay is barely livable if you're targeting a middle class life with kids and targeting retiring at 65.
LOL. Do you live in Mars?
If 300k is "barely livable", then how does a Starbucks barista make a living in SV?
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand your point - is it that people should pay different amount for identical amount of work based on how much they themselves are paid?
Vehicle registration fees, like many others, are 100% a blunt money collection mechanism imposed by the government. This has nothing to do with a poor or wealthy person buying a new Playstation 5.
They pay for the cost of that service. This is an optional service for those who choose to register a vehicle. Charging people things based on yearly income means the richest people will pay nothing as the bulk of their income isn't realized yearly. Maybe you want to charge people by total wealth but in those cases the richest have wealth available under different names in parts of the world unauditable by a state agency. Add in the cost to determine these figures now it costs a few thousand to register a vehicle.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
No even on a highly paid team of engineers making 250-400k, half of them are actively producing technical debt. One good engineer can replace 2, and then leave the code base simpler and more maintainable.
You are correct in terms of raw talent. And I agree, there are a significant number of NNPPs in many teams who could be culled for a net increase in productivity. However what this viewpoint doesn't account for are team dynamics. A strong TL can turn NNPPs into incremental positive contributors. A great programmer without leadership capabilities will not be able to outpace the technical debt. There are also more subt…
Sure, a great team lead can boost productivity of other engineers. But you dont end up with world changing products that way, you just end up completing some incremental project on time. Probably alot of the core innovations at OpenAI were done by < 10 people.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
Billionaires have a whole novel extra layer above this, as their taxable income and investment preferences can be significant for local (and sometimes national) governments. What's described here affects everyone, and is a reason to something something Gini coefficient. Someone on $1k/year can't afford for their $50 smartphone to get damaged or stolen; on $10k/year they can't afford for their fridge to break and thei…
I want to get to the point where I can pay $10k for a first class cubicle on international flights and show up well-rested instead of having to lose a whole day to feeling like crap Or $50k to book a charter flight and just have my driver take me straight onto the tarmac, thus avoiding the airport entirely
Or so rich that people come to you
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do not find that interesting. If the goal is wealth redistribution, then either a marginal income/wealth (property)/sales tax accomplishes that. We do not have marginal sales tax rates because it is not feasible. Marginal income tax is feasible, and so it does exist in most places. Marginal property/wealth tax is somewhere in the middle, given the difficulties in valuing thinly traded assets, and the tremendous eff…
Does anywhere in the world have a marginal property tax? LA introduced a mansion sales tax. Anywhere else? My main issue with a marginal property tax is that the areas with high property values already have enough taxes generally for the things property tax covers. Not sure at least in the US how feasible it would be to have a marginal property tax and the revenue go to the state and the Fed (or even the county's gen…
UK has council tax bands based loosely on property value, but it's not very regularly reassessed so it's not very progressive.
Norway has a wealth tax of up to 1.1% of wealth, with discounts based on different types of wealth and a minimum deduction of ca. $150k. Discounts are based roughly on how liquid assets are. Houses etc. are valued at 25% of market value, so let's say you have a $600k house, the taxable value is $150k, which falls entirely within the minimum deduction, so most people pay very little wealth tax.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Vehicle registration fees, like many others, are 100% a blunt money collection mechanism imposed by the government. This has nothing to do with a poor or wealthy person buying a new Playstation 5.
Who mentioned anything about vehicle registration fees? I assumed OP meant servicing and such.
I'm the OP. I was specifically referring to registration.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#178It'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.
One of the most compelling lyrics I've ever heard, that has stuck with me for about a decade now, is Chris Brown's, "I get what you get in 10 years in 2 days."
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
I get what you're saying, but the median income for SFO is way below what tech people get paid. "barely livable" is perhaps a bridge too far for the $300k+ crowd. :)
The median person in SFO lives a way worse life than a median person in Ohio
Is there actual data that compares the quality of life for this? I’m curious to see how my city stacks up.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#180It'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.
One of the most compelling lyrics I've ever heard, that has stuck with me for about a decade now, is Chris Brown's, "I get what you get in 10 years in 2 days."
For me, on the same track, I'd have to go with Busta's verse when he's all "cuz it doesn't matter cuz I'm gonna da da da da"
(I jest. I just really like that song's beat & Busta's verse in terms of sheer speed & enunciation & crispness in staying on beat.)