Every job I checked has a cap of $370k TC https://openai.com/careers/search
$900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
241–250 of 351 posts
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#242It'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…
I don't think that's a fair example. I'm not sure what it's like to run a small business in California. But the answer to that situation is progressive taxation, and California has one of the most progressive tax systems in the US. https://taxfoundation.org/which-states-have-most-progressive...
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
I read this here and there and don't doubt it, but then again I've never seen/met anyone IRL (outside of C-level) making this much money as an employee. Are they just extremely rare cases or am I just not aware of the valley and their customs?
Have you met any IC8+/D1+ working for Meta in the US?
Honestly, no.
I mainly hang out w/ people from Europe and random parts of the States (like MA, they're paid good but not THAT good).
Dumb question maybe, but now I'm curious.
What does it really take to land a job like this one? Luck? Your network? Experience? All of it?
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only if you define "good life" as having a big house with a big yard.
Last time I ate in SF, I walked past a guy smoking crack on the sidewalk. But, yeah... big house with a big yard is nice.
Can’t reply to the comment below inquiring about odor, but people smoking crack are easy to spot as you don’t roll crack in a cigarette, you smoke it out of a heated glass pipe. It looks entirely different. So it’s easy to notice when done in the open. As far as odor… I think it smells a lot like meth that, when smoked, smells like an odd laundry detergent that you have never smelled before. Sort of like a decaying air freshener. That’s the best I can do.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
I read this here and there and don't doubt it, but then again I've never seen/met anyone IRL (outside of C-level) making this much money as an employee. Are they just extremely rare cases or am I just not aware of the valley and their customs?
I believe you are just not aware. C-Level folks make many millions a year, either liquid or paper. I am at FAANG and virtually everyone at L6 (staff Eng level, many thousands of people) is paid at least $500k, with monthly liquidity (no cliff). With a bit of luck stock wise, it’s also not uncommon at all to get to $500k+ at L5 (senior eng level, many dozens of thousands of people). Everyone in my SF network (hundreds…
>Everyone in my SF network (hundreds of people) virtually make above $500k.
Wow, great to hear that.
Do you know of any "outsiders" (people not living in the valley, working remotely) making that much money as well?
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
Last time I ate in SF, I walked past a guy smoking crack on the sidewalk. But, yeah... big house with a big yard is nice.
What.. what does crack smoke smell like? Cigarettes I know. Marijuana is a bit funky, but it's easy because--by process of elimination--it's not a cancer stick. But now I have to squirrel away a third possibility.
A quick search suggests it smells like burning plastic or rubber
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#247Earlier 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…
A few years ago, I bought a 3-bedroom house in East Bay area, with a nice backyard (which looks distinctly less nice now, but hey, programming is a time-consuming job), and a decent public high school in walking distance for my two kids, all the while getting a whooping I honestly don't know what to say. If you really think 300K/year is barely livable then I hope someone in your family has a sit down with you and ask blunt questions about what the fuck you're doing with all that money.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#248Other companies nickel and diming engineers think they are somehow getting something for free. All the highest performing companies in the world pay insane amounts to their programmers
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.
Paying someone more also doesn’t mean you can charge your customers more. A budget is a budget. There’s a reason McDonald’s pays employees differently in India vs NYC, the work maybe the same but the market is different
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
I don't think that's a fair example. I'm not sure what it's like to run a small business in California. But the answer to that situation is progressive taxation, and California has one of the most progressive tax systems in the US. https://taxfoundation.org/which-states-have-most-progressive...
Punitively high static costs of living and costs of doing business have profoundly cascading effects on people. Progressive tax rates have absolutely nothing to do with that.
Re: $900k Median Package for Engineers at OpenAI
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
I read this here and there and don't doubt it, but then again I've never seen/met anyone IRL (outside of C-level) making this much money as an employee. Are they just extremely rare cases or am I just not aware of the valley and their customs?
I believe you are just not aware. C-Level folks make many millions a year, either liquid or paper. I am at FAANG and virtually everyone at L6 (staff Eng level, many thousands of people) is paid at least $500k, with monthly liquidity (no cliff). With a bit of luck stock wise, it’s also not uncommon at all to get to $500k+ at L5 (senior eng level, many dozens of thousands of people). Everyone in my SF network (hundreds…
Recently? That's wild. Work 4 or 5 years and retire lol