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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

#221

I'm amazed both with the number of messages I get from Amazon about job openings and the aggressiveness of them. Add on how many are for ill fitting or basically Hail Mary type positions (During the height of the pandemic I got one wanting me to move to Ireland to work in an Amazon office there. They even acknowledged the oddness of the situation but they were really desperate for people to fill those roles). Seems l…

Yep, ditto my experience here. Amazon is far and away the company that reaches out most aggressively - which is generally fine - but what's very annoying is that the jobs they want me to apply for are so poorly targeted.

I have probably about a dozen emails from AWS even though I've been doing mobile apps for the past >10 years and that's readily evident if you even bothered looking at my CV.

I can't think of another major company whose recruiters spend so little effort pitching a relevant role to the candidate. At this point I don't even open the emails any more - which seems like it's long-term detrimental to their recruitment efforts overall.

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

#222
post #209
post #145

Judging from what an insider in the HR org told me, we're going to be hearing a lot of stories like this going forward. Apparently, Amazon scale is so large and their attrition rates are so bad that in some markets, every potentially qualified candidate has already applied and failed an interview, or previously worked at Amazon and quit. As the adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention and Amazon seems to be a…

As the adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention and Amazon seems to be at a point where it really needs to try everything under the sun to try to attract talent, given their extremely poor reputation. So rather than address the problems that are giving rise to this extremely poor reputation and commensurate attrition rates -- the only "fix" that Amazon can think of is to offer people more cash so that the net…

Yes, that's how labor markets work.

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

#223
post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why give your future self that risk instead of looking for a higher base salary that is stickier over the long term? You're exactly right. Signing bonuses - and even equity compensation - are designed to lower your TC over time. The idea is that companies offer a high TC to entice you through the door, with the understanding that at the end of your 4 years your TC will drop precipitously but at that point you'd be…

Only because I'd rather ask and make sure I'm tracking acronyms properly while reading comments: TC is "Total Compensation" right? As in salary + equity and other benefits and etc? Or does it usually refer to just cash salary?

Total as in including everything, right. Not just cash.

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

#224
post #188
post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When does the 15% come in to play? If your recruiter tells you $xxx in stock, they actually discount that and you get a grant for 15% less shares than current market price?

The signing bonus is some N shares of stock. The $xxx figures in their comp packages are inflated in years 2, 3, and 4 by optimistically valuing those shares.

So, if the recruiter says $500k in RSU, and the stock stays flat for 4 years, the grant is actually only for $425k (or less with compounding)?

Or, are you saying, they justify small grants by telling you the stock will grow?

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

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Microsoft a really cozy place to work? Shopify in Canada is similar with weak comp, but it is considered a great place to work.

Most teams at Microsoft these days have great work-life balance. Just stay away from the hardcore teams like core Windows development teams, compilers, Xbox.. The company will support you in any personal goals you have, you'll be able to find internal clubs for just about anything, and at least pre-pandemic, lecturers were frequently invited to campus to give talks on a huge range of topics that anybody could sign up…

FYI, i work at MS (on a compiler team). The work-life balance is fantastic. I'm not sure where you got the idea that that isn't so. Thanks! :)

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

#226
post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, you have a visa for me? I will be on the next flight over if so

I'm assuming that based on your username, you are an EU citizen? If so, apply for a job with any large US based company in one of their European offices. For example, Google in Zurich or Dublin, Amazon in London, etc. After one year, you qualify for what's called an L1B 'internal transfer' visa. You can then transfer to another team within the same company that's based in the US. In many cases the company will sponso…

> As long as you're not a citizen of either India or China, this should take 2-3 years

Whats different with these two? Why does it take so long in general?

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

#227
post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As the adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention and Amazon seems to be at a point where it really needs to try everything under the sun to try to attract talent, given their extremely poor reputation. So rather than address the problems that are giving rise to this extremely poor reputation and commensurate attrition rates -- the only "fix" that Amazon can think of is to offer people more cash so that the net…

Yes, that's how labor markets work.

At some point, no amount of money is worth it.

I can hardly imagine earning $350k a year. I've never earned a third of that anually. What I can imagine is a job that places such a demand on my time and attention that I don't have time for a life outside of it.

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

#228
This is good news for tech workers, but the income disparity between Amazon tech workers and Amazon warehouse/delivery workers is absolutely obscene.

Understandably, skilled vs unskilled labor, and supply and demand, and all that, but as Jon Stewart recently recounted telling Jeff Bezos at a dinner party, “sounds like a recipe for a revolution.”

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

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't match my experience. I guess it depends on the role but for engineers it's well known Amazon has been throwing large sign on bonuses to close the vesting gap for years. For instance I received an offer that was 160 base, 325 cash bonus and 5% of my RSUs for my first year, putting my TC at ~510k. Second year was a slightly smaller bonus, and 15% of my RSUs. Is it possible that when folks were voluntarily…

>For instance I received an offer that was 160 base, 325 cash bonus and 5% of my RSUs for my first year, putting my TC at ~510k. Second year was a slightly smaller bonus, and 15% of my RSUs. Jeebus man. What is it that you FAANG developers do that is so much more complex than what regular developers do? For reference: I do Angular and Python development. Is there like some open source project or code samples that giv…

If you look at it as FANNG's employing people to keep them from working for others it makes a bit more sense.

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

#230
post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only because I'd rather ask and make sure I'm tracking acronyms properly while reading comments: TC is "Total Compensation" right? As in salary + equity and other benefits and etc? Or does it usually refer to just cash salary?

Total as in including everything, right. Not just cash.

And I'm only just now seeing at the bottom of the thread someone else asked the same and got an answer a few hours ago. Heh. But thank you!
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