Actually, middle management are the ones that tend to be in trouble: Few companies hire middle managers, as they prefer to promote vs hire. This is one of the r

Actually, middle management are the ones that tend to be in trouble: Few companies hire middle managers, as they prefer to promote vs hire. This is one of the reasons you see so much company loyalty in middle management: More ICs than managers are laid off, but finding a new job as a manager is far more difficult. Yes, the engineers shouldn't work hoping on an IPO ever happening, and focus on the cash component. To be fair, middle management is in the same boat though. Still, programmers have far better chances of finding another job quickly. Their skills are incredibly portable and easy to demonstrate. Now, if you want less risk as an engineer, consider a smaller market: The real problem in SF is the exposure to a crazy real estate market, and it's easy to work in a place without those risks. In St Louis, for instance, a generic, unremarkable senior dev makes 110-150K. It's a lot less than the bay, but a good house in a good school district can be bought outright for 200K! You can find similar low risk environments all over the midwest, with opportunities in both big companies and small startup incubators. You won't find AirBnBs, Ubers and Stripes in there, but if you are really afraid of a downturn, it's a decent possibility.