Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level • Hacker News Board

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#141

Post by thatsenough » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:46 AM UTC

dehrmann wrote: post #133

thatsenough wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started working at FANG recently, after spending 15 years in a different field. The very first thing I noticed was how young the average employee is. It was a little startling. I've heard different theories: * Today's big tech companies are still relatively young, so the workforce is young. * The companies have grown exponentially in recent years, and they've hired many new grads to meet hiring targets. This would…

Looking at this (hopefully someone can find longer-term data), the number of CS graduates was in decline until 2009. https://i1.wp.com/danwang.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/bach...

There was a peak in the mid-80s, and another around 2005.

CS enrollments reached a max around 2000, at the height of the dot-com bubble. But when the bubble burst in 2000-2001, enrollments plummeted in 2002, 2003 and 2004, leading to the local minimum in graduates in 2009.

https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/CSCapacity/images/BS...

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#142

Post by paxys » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:47 AM UTC

eru wrote: post #36

i0exception wrote: post #20

Salary negotiation is pretty one sided today with companies holding all the cards. Better visibility into numbers will definitely help level the playing field. Collecting offer letters is an interesting way to build trust in data. What's the incentive for someone to upload their offer letter though?

> Salary negotiation is pretty one sided today with companies holding all the cards. What makes you think companies hold all the cards? Especially in tech.

Just a few years ago many large silicon valley employers (including some companies on the above list) were part of an illegal anti-poaching agreement and were sued and settled with the DOJ for it. Just because engineers get paid a lot doesn't mean their employers aren't scummy.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#143

Post by fakename11 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:47 AM UTC

tempire wrote: post #5

If this is for real, _everyone_ I know is getting completely screwed. I have a hard time believing any of these numbers. If I earned any of these amounts for 2-3 years, I could live off the interest for the rest of my life.

My friend got 260K out of school at Google. I got slightly less.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#144

Post by th-miracle-257 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:47 AM UTC

HenryKissinger wrote: post #62

tempire wrote: post #5

If this is for real, _everyone_ I know is getting completely screwed. I have a hard time believing any of these numbers. If I earned any of these amounts for 2-3 years, I could live off the interest for the rest of my life.

Here in Canada entry level SWEs are getting paid 60k-70k CAD (45k-55k USD). It's worse in Europe. These numbers are absolutely mind boggling. Even with a higher cost of living and California income taxes, you still have at least 100k of free money to invest. It's no wonder so many people apply for jobs at FAANGs. A job at a FAANG is practically a ticket to early retirement.

It is worse in Europe, but try getting a FANG job in Europe and they still pay extremely well.

My base pay is 150K pounds and not in London! Definitely I have a very niche skill in demand and I had to work really hard and be luck at the same time, to land at this role, but I will any day pick Europe with all the other benefits that a European country gives me.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#145

Post by fakename11 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:48 AM UTC

milesskorpen wrote: post #115

eclipxe wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, these are roughly inline with new hire offers

At all of the five listed levels?

You can get from 180k to 260k as a new grad at Google.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#146

Post by shantly » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:49 AM UTC

chillacy wrote: post #90

HenryKissinger wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here in Canada entry level SWEs are getting paid 60k-70k CAD (45k-55k USD). It's worse in Europe. These numbers are absolutely mind boggling. Even with a higher cost of living and California income taxes, you still have at least 100k of free money to invest. It's no wonder so many people apply for jobs at FAANGs. A job at a FAANG is practically a ticket to early retirement.

At one point I fancied the idea of working abroad for fun, I could learn a language and try something new. The income disparity was far too great compared to the US, so I never did it. The one exception: Google pays pretty well in Switzerland, but I hear it's hard to land.

Same. We've toyed with the idea of moving permanently if only because healthcare here's so bad and doesn't seem likely to get significantly better any time soon (the most "left" ideas beginning to creep into the Overton window still don't address prices seriously within the next decade). However, as a developer making way under FAANG comp levels, I'd still struggle to make more than like 2/3 what I do here, in Europe. Before taxes.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#147

Post by fakename11 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:53 AM UTC

throwaway34343 wrote: post #26

I was a manager at one of these companies and my L5s were making half of what this thing says. Don't trust everything you read on the internet.

This isn't true.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#148

Post by shuckles » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:53 AM UTC

burfog wrote: post #106

typest wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is not necessarily a catch. Pay is not based on cost of living -- it's set by market rates, and the market rate for software engineers in these areas who can do the jobs required at these companies is high. All these companies operate at an immense scale where an engineer, through what is often a simple change, can add significant value to the company. So, yes. For now, these companies are giving college grads…

Pay is partly based on cost of living, and cost of living helps to set the market rates. You'd have to pay me 10 times more than I get now, with a huge hiring bonus, to make me move to San Francisco. I'm not alone in this thinking. This is why the market rate is high. Part of that is sort of circular, due to the bidding war for housing. Part is that some people just hate the political insanity. Part is that people ha…

Let’s say you’re the median American SWE getting paid $80k a year. You’re saying you wouldn’t move to SFBA for less than $800k/yr in total compensation? I find that hard to imagine.

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#149

Post by rolltiide » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:54 AM UTC

shantly wrote: post #136

huehehue wrote: post #53

What I'm taking away from this is that many (most) companies are grossly underpaying their engineers. I've been through the SF/NYC Senior SWE interviewing gauntlet twice in the past three years, and received 10+ offers at half this rate. Levels claims to be checking offer letters, which is great IMO. It's really hard for people to know they're being undervalued when the employers are low-balling and the self-reporter…

I think it's more that software development's divided between the maybe— maybe —5% who are looking at comp at these levels, and everyone else who's in the $70K-180K range, with a cap somewhere in lower-leadership positions that perhaps reaches $200K, maybe mid $200Ks at best as you start to move into management proper. Anything past that you've gotta really nail some niche that someone with lots of money (probably fi…

Its not a small number of positions its just a small number of companies

At the moment these few companies are expanding as fast as possible and have an infinite number of positions that pay these amounts until they dont

Re: Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

#150

Post by corporateslave5 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 6:54 AM UTC

choppaface wrote: post #135

corporateslave5 wrote: post #4

For everyone who doesn’t know, you’re getting shafted at that medium size startup/company. Most of these FAANG engineers are not geniuses, they just studied for the interviews

You're definitely getting shafted if you're working for a privately held start-up and they don't give you a 10 year exercise window. Many start-ups pay "median" salary or below, which make their numbers look bad versus levels.fyi. But in many cases if a start-up has an exit, then early employees will easily eclipse what they'd earn at FAANG. (Later employees, maybe not ..). The 10 year exercise window should be stand…

Actually it’s rare for the options to be worth more than FAANG options. Only the earliest stage employees do well, and adjusted for the risk they take, it’s a really bad deal