Tech compensation in 2021 • Hacker News Board

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#21

Post by ggregoire » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:31 PM UTC

> Chris can expect to make $300k at a non-FAANG company, but nearly double that if they’re willing to compromise on that “no-FAANG” stance

Ok but aren't the expectations for a Staff+ way higher at FAANG than at non-FAANG? Or we assume Chris already got the offer from FAANG for a Staff+ role and so it's just a personal choice? Those articles and discussions about salary always assume everybody is able to work at FAANG, or that a title at non-FAANG automatically transfers to the same title at FAANG.

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#22

Post by VRay » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:32 PM UTC

bpodgursky wrote: post #11

zz865 wrote: post #6

> Chris can expect to make $300k at a non-FAANG company, but nearly double that if they’re willing to compromise on that “no-FAANG” stance Is that really a good rule of thumb? FAANG pays double non-FAANG?

Base comp probably... but the OP is discounting equity almost entirely: > and those are likely to be the kind of complex instruments that I treat as a gamble, not guaranteed salary Idk, opinions vary, but the majority of my early startup total comp in my career has been equity payout. Maybe I just got super lucky, but I think this is too firm a stance and tips the scales against non-FAANG too heavily.

Ah, I’ve worked with a lot of people who didn’t hit it big with stock options and suffered ruinous tax liabilities in some cases.. Zero is probably too little, but if you’re being paid way under-market in cash and having to dip into that to exercise options and pay taxes, zero might actually be a good middle ground between the best and worst cases

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#23

Post by beebmam » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:32 PM UTC

KronisLV wrote: post #14

As someone who works in an Eastern European country, i also did a writeup on how much i've made over the years and how that figure has changed, while working for a local company: https://blog.kronis.dev/articles/on-finances-and-savings In short, this year i'll probably make around 18k Euros, in total. I guess that just goes to show how different the situation is depending on where you live and where you're employed.

Why are these numbers so massively different across the world?

Do European companies generate that much less revenue? Or are labor unions in Europe just that much less effective at bargaining? Or is productivity that much lower in Europe? (I'm not sold on any of these)

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#24

Post by m_ke » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:32 PM UTC

VRay wrote: post #15

Man, every time I think I’ve finally caught up to the market rate, I find out I’m behind again I’m a senior FAANG coder making 350k TC, and it looks like I should be able to net 400-600k at this level if I go to Apple or Google. Hoo boy, looks like it’s leetcode time again…

Yeah I know a lot of FAANG people getting 500-600K packages. Makes it hard to even think about startups.

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#25

Post by websap » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:33 PM UTC

zz865 wrote: post #6

> Chris can expect to make $300k at a non-FAANG company, but nearly double that if they’re willing to compromise on that “no-FAANG” stance Is that really a good rule of thumb? FAANG pays double non-FAANG?

I think there are many other companies now paying or exceeding FAANG. Some of them are - Stripe, Databricks, Coinbase, Dropbox, Uber, Lyft, Twitter (to some extent), DoorDash, Airbnb, etc

We no longer live in a FAANG only world. FAANG companies are now trying exceptionally hard to hire talent. A lot of the FAANG perks were in-office, as the world continues to accept the remote first worker, they are only going to have a harder time.

As I work from home, I've come to appreciate different aspects of my work, than what I enjoyed in-office.

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#26

Post by VRay » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:34 PM UTC

btheshoe wrote: post #2

The best way of doing this is to just use levels.fyi and ask on Blind (which is a toxic place, but a bit of toxicity is needed to maximize tc).

Blind is a real hive of scum and villainy, but at least you can get real numbers from real people

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#27

Post by websap » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:34 PM UTC

btheshoe wrote: post #2

The best way of doing this is to just use levels.fyi and ask on Blind (which is a toxic place, but a bit of toxicity is needed to maximize tc).

Why is this being downvoted? Levels.fyi and Blind are great tools. Blind is toxic because posters are obsessive about their TC, but I feel that's a side-affect of not letting people talk about money in their real lives, so they need to be anonymous and vent.

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#28

Post by websap » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:35 PM UTC

VectorLock wrote: post #19

I wonder how having so many companies moving to remote-work are changing this equation. I've been asking people how much they'd take a pay cut to go for full-remote and most people say 10% is a no-brainer.

Nah! I wouldn't take a pay cut to go remote. In fact, I'd expect the following: 1. Yearly stipend to upgrade my workplace. 2. Quarterly paid trips to meet my teammates either at off-sites or conferences.

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#29

Post by VRay » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:36 PM UTC

websap wrote: post #20

VRay wrote: post #15

Man, every time I think I’ve finally caught up to the market rate, I find out I’m behind again I’m a senior FAANG coder making 350k TC, and it looks like I should be able to net 400-600k at this level if I go to Apple or Google. Hoo boy, looks like it’s leetcode time again…

500K is the new 350K in 2021.

I wish I could get a company to just give me 15 weeks of paid vacation instead.. alas

Re: Tech compensation in 2021

#30

Post by paxys » Thu, Oct 14, 2021, 10:36 PM UTC

ggregoire wrote: post #21

> Chris can expect to make $300k at a non-FAANG company, but nearly double that if they’re willing to compromise on that “no-FAANG” stance Ok but aren't the expectations for a Staff+ way higher at FAANG than at non-FAANG? Or we assume Chris already got the offer from FAANG for a Staff+ role and so it's just a personal choice? Those articles and discussions about salary always assume everybody is able to work at FAANG…

Exactly. Someone saying they are Staff+ because of their current role at an Akron startup and actually getting an offer for Staff+ from Google or Facebook are very different situations.