Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level

Post by throwawaymath » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:26 PM UTC

monoideism wrote: post #375

throwawaymath wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think your analysis is correct. Or at least, it's really incomplete and thereby misleading. I'm going to use hard numbers as someone who lives in one of the highest COL areas, but I want to emphasize I'm doing that for illustrative purposes and not to be condescending. To begin with, the cost of basically anything you buy online from Amazon, Walmart, Apple, Best Buy, etc is the same no matter where you are in…

That's interesting. Thank you for that analysis. Again, I wasn't arguing that they were exactly equivalent. They're just not as different as they appear at first glance. It is true that you have a good chance of increasing your savings rate if you can get a job with a FAANG, which is a big deal. It's also true that it's much easier to change jobs there. That's IMHO the biggest asset and what I used to argue for movin…

Post by poulsbohemian » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:28 PM UTC

heedlessly3 wrote: post #327

throwaway713 wrote: post #236

Now imagine having one of these incomes but having a spouse who is hellbent on moving back to the southeastern U.S. in a year. It’s driving me nuts; I can’t find any company in the south that pays anywhere near my current compensation, and a rough calculation indicates that leaving FANG will bump my retirement age from 38 to 65 (never mind the amazing health insurance I’ll be giving up too). It’s like throwing a winn…

HN never ceases to amaze me. Plenty of people here are great at negotiating job offers, but struggle negotiating in relationships. Different skill, set I guess maybe no surprise. Well, either way, figure it out. Go remote, long-distance, invest, build a business, or whatever else you need to do to retire around 40ish. Learn to make sacrifices.

Post by monoideism » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:32 PM UTC

throwawaymath wrote: post #381

monoideism wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's interesting. Thank you for that analysis. Again, I wasn't arguing that they were exactly equivalent. They're just not as different as they appear at first glance. It is true that you have a good chance of increasing your savings rate if you can get a job with a FAANG, which is a big deal. It's also true that it's much easier to change jobs there. That's IMHO the biggest asset and what I used to argue for movin…

You mean like downleveling? Sure, that happens a lot. The top paying companies mostly only consider engineers from similarly high paying companies to be known quantities. So if you are a staff engineer at a smaller tech company or a startup, you'll probably end up being "only" senior at Google or Facebook.

Post by svachalek » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:33 PM UTC

cletus wrote: post #171

As a FAANG engineer going on 9 years now, let me address the usual rebuttals: - There is a selection bias. Nope, this is pretty much accurate. - These aren't real. Yes, yes they are. - Self-reporters are lying. Maybe some do but these numbers are pretty accurate. If anything, I question Lyft and Airbnb as such outliers. I wonder if this factored in Lyft's post-IPO stock performance and makes unrealistic valuations of…

Post by esoterica » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:34 PM UTC

overcast wrote: post #349

whiskyant wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a senior engineer at FAANG, work 40hrs/wk, and get paid $400k+/yr. The cost of living is higher, but it's well under the increase in pay for being in the area. My current living situation is actually pretty cheap; I split a 4BR house, live 7 min from work, and pay $1650/mo for my portion of rent/utilities. Most people I know tend to get 2BR apartments and split it with someone, usually paying $2000-2500/mo.

You're also stuck renting, with three other people, with a $400k salary. Conversely, I bought an 1800sqft house in upstate New York, alone, and the total per month is roughly $1400(mortgage, property/school tax,utilities).