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Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

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Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grind leetcode that's it?? All I have to do is ace every leetcode problem and I get a 20% raise every year?!

Buddy of mine solved 1400 leetcodes and still failed several rounds

Did they fail because they couldn't solve an algorithm? Or was it due to something else - e.g. soft skills, solving without explaining your thought process, system design, behavioral questions.

Algorithms are only one part of an interview. I wouldn't hire someone who was rude or condescending, regardless of how fast they can write an O(n) solution.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#402
post #10

It also makes us Europeans feel underpaid :) I have 20 years of experience and don't even make six figures. $350000 base pay sounds like a different world.

Warning: Every European who comes here feels extremely poor also (and many move back to Europe), so perhaps you should take that into consideration.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#403
post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> YMMV. YMMV is right. There's a lot of factors here. It's almost meaningless to take averages without qualifying those against a fairly large number of conditions. Total comp North of 300K for an IC sounds like science fiction to many folks which aren't in Silicon Valley, in certain fields, and in certain companies.

It's not what you make, it's what you keep. That 300K+ in SV comes coupled to an extreme cost of living. :)

It also doesn't help when the previous administration specifically targets you with punitive tax policies.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#404
post #328
post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most devs will admit that they couldn't readily pass the interview at even their own company without many hours of studying and practicing algorithms. I don't think, if asked to interview for it today, that I could land my current job. I'm also fairly certain I'm one of the top engineers on my team, and I do think we have a really good team of developers overall. It makes me feel better that I'm not alone, in this…

It's a random process. If you set the bar 2 std. div. above what you need, you are hiring qualified people with a p value of 5%. You're rejecting /most/ qualified people too. Most people underestimate how random the process is. There are a few ways in: - Be 2 std. div above the qualifications - Apply to many places and pick the one where you're lucky - Give another, less noisy source of signal than resume + interview…

> If you make this about you, you'll feel horrible. If you understand the huge random factor, you'll do much better.

Thanks, this is helpful as I go through various interview processes right now.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#405
post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It only seems like that but people in the US have to pay for things that Europeans take for granted. You might earn more, but most people would end up with less disposable income.

Paying $12k on the high end out of your non-taxed income for a family of 4 does not make up for a near 2x salary gap.

Where is that number coming from? I assure you it's much more complicated than something you can express with a single number.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Meanwhile for those that have the time and willpower to grind leetcode, they know they can command a 20-40% raise every few years. One thing a lot of people forget about this 20-40% number is: It's only true early in your career. It might be hard for younger folks to believe, but you will all hit a ceiling and plateau. My first job hop was for +50%! The next one was about 40%, the next one 15%, and so on. Now, with…

Your example is not actually that crazy at FAANG level companies. I know a lot of people in their early 30's that are L6 or even L7 at big tech companies, maybe they've changed jobs every 2 years on average in their career which is well under 9 times, and those level of roles have a total comp of 500k-750k/yr. With a 4-year stock grant and some luck on the stock performance in that time, that can turn into well over…

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Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#407
post #360
post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

£100K should be bare minimum for a software engineer with a few years of experience in central London in 2022. 3 bed terraced houses with access to good schools, 50-60 minutes out central, sell for £1M, so if you're entering the area want a family you really want a household income of £200K+.

Something is very very wrong if you need two parents earning over £100K each to live in a 3 bed terrace an hour out of town.

Second reply, because there is too much information here.

https://citymonitor.ai/government/england-short-4-million-ho...

The UK is short about 4 million houses. We have 4 million families who are homeless without anywhere to go.

If we banned second home ownership it would only knock about 10% off that number.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-...

That's a pretty crappy situation where we don't even have enough houses for people to rent.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> YMMV. YMMV is right. There's a lot of factors here. It's almost meaningless to take averages without qualifying those against a fairly large number of conditions. Total comp North of 300K for an IC sounds like science fiction to many folks which aren't in Silicon Valley, in certain fields, and in certain companies.

That's actually so much of why people feel underpaid. Pay varies incredibly widely. The job also varies quite widely, but when you're not in the job, IC sounds a lot like IC. You could be an IC with a total compensation of $80k (and actually getting $80k), you could be an IC with a TC of $300k (and actually getting $300k), and you could be an IC with a TC of $750k (and actually getting something like $200k-250k becau…

If your employee is private, it is silly to count non liquid statistically meaningless “equity” as part of your compensation.

“compensation” is something I can trade for cash once I have earned it and then exchange for good and services.

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#409
post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> YMMV. YMMV is right. There's a lot of factors here. It's almost meaningless to take averages without qualifying those against a fairly large number of conditions. Total comp North of 300K for an IC sounds like science fiction to many folks which aren't in Silicon Valley, in certain fields, and in certain companies.

It's not what you make, it's what you keep. That 300K+ in SV comes coupled to an extreme cost of living. :)

Good thing there are such things as remote jobs…

Re: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid

#410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is what I will never understand about most established tech people, they see all the widespread misery and poverty in SV and they still have the capacity to feel sorry for themselves for not making X times more than 'that other guy. I don't understand this opinion. Why are the two feelings in conflict? I can be concerned for the people around me AND be concerned that I'm making less than X times more than the…

> Why are the two feelings in conflict? I can be concerned for the people around me AND be concerned that I'm making less than X times more than the average. Because as a tech worker your salary is likely already well above the level that it would need to fall in order for us to achieve meaningful level of wealth equality (not complete equality, but equal-ish) > making everyone an equal millionaire will never work Ye…

I believe in equality of opportunity, not outcome. So, I'm absolutely fine with paying higher taxes if that money gets ear-marked for single payer healthcare, education, infrastructure, etc. See the nordics for an example.

I don't believe doing that would require making millionaires as rare as billionaires are today. The nordic countries have plenty of millionaires and billionaires, yet everyone has most of their basic needs taken care of and most everyone has the opportunity to make something of themselves.

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