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Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

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Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#121

So the base pay was 185, now 350k Doesn't really make much difference, unless you were hiring finance bros. The total comp is what mattered.

> The total comp is what mattered. Assuming you're going to stay at Amazon for a long time, yes, total comp is what matters. If not then base pay matters because you don't get to keep most of the stock if you leave after a year or two. Amazon's vesting schedule is pretty bad. Just 5% at the end of year 1! https://avieradvisors.com/amazon/amazons-rsu/

The signing bonus already remediated that.

Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#122
post #80

Finally Amazon is realising their trash comp won't get them any hires in the current market. They were not even close to being competitive with other FAANG before. Couple that with the bad culture and I'm sure they were feeling the pressure to get new hires.

Trash comp? You might be talking about FAANG companies but very few Devs (maybe London) in the UK would get close to $160K, let alone $350K. They might want to attract talent but I suspect there are diminishing returns after a while, you only have to look at Amazon music App, Amazon web site, GMail and the Netflix app on my smart TV to realise they are not releasing good stuff all the time.

You also have to look at how much $$ is printed year to year and how much inflation hit IT sector.

After finally deciding to switch jobs I got twice the salary of previous employer when I hoped Ill get 20-30%.

Market is not catching up to goverments pomping out new taxes and inflation.

Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#123
post #90

Finally Amazon is realising their trash comp won't get them any hires in the current market. They were not even close to being competitive with other FAANG before. Couple that with the bad culture and I'm sure they were feeling the pressure to get new hires.

My Amazon offer from last year was one of my highest ($500K first year TC for senior SWE in Seattle). Amazon has trouble retaining talent but I doubt compensation is the real cause (at least for recent hires).

they are starting to do better, but from folks i know who have gotten offers from Amazon/Netflix/Google/Apple/FB, Amazon is consistently 10-20% less than the top (usually FB after several rounds of negotiation..)

Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#124

What's a 'maximum base' pay? Is that the max salary someone with the right credentials could earn in an entry level position?

No, it's the maximum base pay for all positions.

Beyond entry level, most of the compensation at Amazon and other FAANGs is in the form of stock awards (RSUs). So a senior engineer might have a $160k annual salary and $300k worth of RSUs vesting that year, making for $460k total compensation.

In an environment of rising stock prices, this is a cost-effective way for a large company to pay high salaries because the stock that's worth $300k today was only worth, say, $150k when it was originally granted, and that's the price that Amazon effectively paid in its earnings deductions at that time.

Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#125
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I briefly browsed Zillow in Seattle. It looks like a good 2-3 bd house is 700k+. And of course you need a car since public transport isn’t a thing there. Sending children to a good colleage is probably 50k+ a year just in tuition. I get a feeling money is different there.

It's comical though - the reason the pay is so high is because the housing prices are so high. The housing prices are so high because the pay is so high. It's a never ending cycle.

Housing prices are high because the supply of housing is very low relative to demand from people who have the ability to pay a high price.

If you took the same amount of high earners and dropped them in an area with five times as many equivalent utility houses, then prices would not be high even though there are the same number of high earners. Hence high housing prices are not a result of a population of high earners simply existing.

As an example, I can afford and am willing to pay $5 for an apple, but I will not because I can easily find an equivalent one for $1.5.

Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#126

What's a 'maximum base' pay? Is that the max salary someone with the right credentials could earn in an entry level position?

No, its just the maximum cash base that amazon will pay anyone, at any level (perhaps without a VP approval, or something). RSU's and cash bonuses are not included, so it does not reflect total comp. E.g. someone might have 160k base and 500k total comp, including their RSUs.

Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

what a poor comment. What would've been nice if you could've explained what I'm missing. For the record I work at a different big tech company and was given a massive sign-on bonus. I also have received an offer from Amazon in the past. I know how to read levels.fyi so I'm not sure what it is that I'm missing exactly.

If Amazon and a standard tech company both gave ~200k offers with a 100k base they would look like this:

Amazon: 100k base, 250k stock over 4 years (5-15-40-40), ~175k sign-on over 2 years

Other: 100k base, 400k stock over 4 years (25-25-25-25), ~25k sign-on immediately

Essentially the lack of stock over the first 2 years is offset by the sign-on

Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#128
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I briefly browsed Zillow in Seattle. It looks like a good 2-3 bd house is 700k+. And of course you need a car since public transport isn’t a thing there. Sending children to a good colleage is probably 50k+ a year just in tuition. I get a feeling money is different there.

Doesn't Amazon provide a shuttle service for employees? Microsoft does, so does Google I believe. There's also a reasonably good bus system here, and they're working on light rail.

It does

Re: Amazon more than doubles max base pay to $350k

#129
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is The Forest just a play on the name Amazon, or is it a reference to some content about Amazon the company? It's hard to google for.

> Is The Forest just a play on the name Amazon Yes.

Im curious how long till words play will be the „Farm Land”
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