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I'm a VP at a mid-sized ($100mm revenue) startup. I report to the CTO, and am his probable successor. I make slightly less than our highest paid engineer. I

I'm a VP at a mid-sized ($100mm revenue) startup. I report to the CTO, and am his probable successor. I make slightly less than our highest paid engineer. I would recommend finding a company with a true parallel track, rather than dedicating yourself to a job that you don't want, and thus likely won't ever be great at.

msravi 11y ago
An honest question: Does the highest paid engineer know that (s)he makes slightly more than you? If so, does (s)he know of it in an official capacity or has (s)he sort-of figured it out? Oftentimes, I've found that management operates from a position of informational advantage, while a person on a parallel technical track at the same level has access to a lot less information. Hence the question.
- adaml_623 11y ago
  That's a really good question
- k__ 11y ago
  Where I worked, there were a few senjor devs who got the biggest pay-checks. Funny thing is, they weren't the most influencial people, they just got a problem and solved it. If the times were though, they sometimes even were "set free" because they company could operate without them, just don't do much new stuff anymore.
- dwmtm 11y ago
  Is there any meaningful sense in which a tech-tracker has more official or unofficial access to information?
  - msravi 11y ago
    Sorry, it's late here and my brain is just unable to parse your sentence. Are you asking if it matters if the information is gained officially or unofficially?
    - dwmtm 11y ago
      I'm asking if managerial information is a strict superset of engineer information. Control of admin passwords to software seems useless or illegal w.r.t. the concept of information here.
- sarwechshar 11y ago
  Plot twist: the engineer is the CTO.
- anotherdatem 11y ago
  They don't have any formal way of knowing my salary, and I don't know what they think I make. I'd share the details of the managerial bands if they were considering a switch, but to date they've been very clear that they're happy staying technical.
maxxxxx 11y ago
What industry is that? In companies I have seen it's a matter of principle that an engineer can't make as much money as managers. They would lay off the best engineer in the world before giving him as much money as they make.
- anotherdatem 11y ago
  It's a b2b tech company. I've had at least one direct report who made more than me for my entire tenure.
- ci5er 11y ago
  I was the founding CTO of a company that did ~$100M in sales it's last year. My top engineers made more in salary than I did. And our top sales people out-earned the CEO and all his staff's take home pay by a quite a bit (except, occasionally the VP of Sales). Which the CEO had no problem with, whatsoever. If it matters, it was a company that sold software primarily to large banks globally.
- gaius 11y ago
  It's the old class system, an engineer is "blue collar" (no matter where he want to school) and a manager is "white collar". Of course engineers don't help themselves at all with all the open-source "software should be free" and feel-good "anyone can learn to code" stuff they come out with. If you won't put a cash value on your work, why would they?
jacalata 11y ago
How many VPs are there, and how many engineers at his pay grade? As in, if a junior engineer at your company is looking at their future, are there five times as many chances to become a VP as to become a highly paid tech superstar?
- anotherdatem 11y ago
  Advancing as an engineer is probably easier for the ambitious because there's not a fixed number of senior technical staff. If a technical contributor levels up their game, they can nearly immediately level up their pay. The management track doesn't work that way; we need to level up our games, and then wait for an opportunity to arise due to corporate growth or turnover. For example, I'm getting coached to take over the CTO slot, but there's no reason to believe that I'll ever get the opportunity, because there's no reason to believe the existing CTO will ever give up their job.

msravi 11y ago

An honest question: Does the highest paid engineer know that (s)he makes slightly more than you? If so, does (s)he know of it in an official capacity or has (s)he sort-of figured it out? Oftentimes, I've found that management operates from a position of informational advantage, while a person on a parallel technical track at the same level has access to a lot less information. Hence the question.

adaml_623 11y ago
That's a really good question
k__ 11y ago
Where I worked, there were a few senjor devs who got the biggest pay-checks. Funny thing is, they weren't the most influencial people, they just got a problem and solved it. If the times were though, they sometimes even were "set free" because they company could operate without them, just don't do much new stuff anymore.
dwmtm 11y ago
Is there any meaningful sense in which a tech-tracker has more official or unofficial access to information?
- msravi 11y ago
  Sorry, it's late here and my brain is just unable to parse your sentence. Are you asking if it matters if the information is gained officially or unofficially?
  - dwmtm 11y ago
    I'm asking if managerial information is a strict superset of engineer information. Control of admin passwords to software seems useless or illegal w.r.t. the concept of information here.
sarwechshar 11y ago
Plot twist: the engineer is the CTO.
anotherdatem 11y ago
They don't have any formal way of knowing my salary, and I don't know what they think I make. I'd share the details of the managerial bands if they were considering a switch, but to date they've been very clear that they're happy staying technical.

maxxxxx 11y ago

What industry is that? In companies I have seen it's a matter of principle that an engineer can't make as much money as managers. They would lay off the best engineer in the world before giving him as much money as they make.

anotherdatem 11y ago
It's a b2b tech company. I've had at least one direct report who made more than me for my entire tenure.
ci5er 11y ago
I was the founding CTO of a company that did ~$100M in sales it's last year. My top engineers made more in salary than I did. And our top sales people out-earned the CEO and all his staff's take home pay by a quite a bit (except, occasionally the VP of Sales). Which the CEO had no problem with, whatsoever. If it matters, it was a company that sold software primarily to large banks globally.
gaius 11y ago
It's the old class system, an engineer is "blue collar" (no matter where he want to school) and a manager is "white collar". Of course engineers don't help themselves at all with all the open-source "software should be free" and feel-good "anyone can learn to code" stuff they come out with. If you won't put a cash value on your work, why would they?

jacalata 11y ago

How many VPs are there, and how many engineers at his pay grade? As in, if a junior engineer at your company is looking at their future, are there five times as many chances to become a VP as to become a highly paid tech superstar?

anotherdatem 11y ago
Advancing as an engineer is probably easier for the ambitious because there's not a fixed number of senior technical staff. If a technical contributor levels up their game, they can nearly immediately level up their pay. The management track doesn't work that way; we need to level up our games, and then wait for an opportunity to arise due to corporate growth or turnover. For example, I'm getting coached to take over the CTO slot, but there's no reason to believe that I'll ever get the opportunity, because there's no reason to believe the existing CTO will ever give up their job.