5 ms·

This is for a new grad in 2014. * Area: Seattle, WA * Position: SDE * Base Pay: $90k * Signing Bonus: $20k immediately, then $17k paid in 12 monthly install

This is for a new grad in 2014. * Area: Seattle, WA * Position: SDE * Base Pay: $90k * Signing Bonus: $20k immediately, then $17k paid in 12 monthly installments after you reach 1yr in employment. * Stock Units: $53k (5% at 1yr mark, 15% at 2yr mark, then 20% every 6 months from then on) Note: this vesting schedule is AWFUL. Needless to say, I rejected this offer and did not work for them. Best decision I ever made.

therealdrag0 11y ago
What did you take instead?
- amznnewgrad 11y ago
  Revealing that would reveal my identity so I can't say the company name. I ended up going to a mid sized startup in SF (50-100 people) that was very very well funded and had a ton of potential along with one of the best teams I've seen. I'm still there and love every second of it and am being given amazing opportunities that I know I wouldn't have gotten at Amazon. Ironically I got paid more on every single vector (base pay, equity, relocation, sane vesting schedule) from this startup than from Amazon. Just goes to show...
  - arcticfox 11y ago
    To be fair, SF is significantly more expensive to live in than Seattle. MSFT gives something like a blanket ~10% higher offer to SV-area employees for this reason.
    - amznnewgrad 11y ago
      Fair point! Though even Microsoft in Seattle pays $100k (source: former roommate).
8788mar3 11y ago
I think the vesting schedule is back loaded because they give you a pretty large sign on bonus in the first two years. Your total comp in year one would have been 112.6k which seems about right. The stock price doubled last year, so you would have been looking at at least 125k in year two.
- amznnewgrad 11y ago
  Given the competition, I don't think the sign-on bonus is that large. It only barely makes up for the difference in salary that you can get from a competitor. E.g you can easily pull $100k to $110k in base pay from similar companies out of school (think LinkedIn, Twitter, FB, Uber). Even well respected startups pay more than $90k (and that's not including any additional bonuses they will surly pay)

therealdrag0 11y ago

What did you take instead?

amznnewgrad 11y ago
Revealing that would reveal my identity so I can't say the company name. I ended up going to a mid sized startup in SF (50-100 people) that was very very well funded and had a ton of potential along with one of the best teams I've seen. I'm still there and love every second of it and am being given amazing opportunities that I know I wouldn't have gotten at Amazon. Ironically I got paid more on every single vector (base pay, equity, relocation, sane vesting schedule) from this startup than from Amazon. Just goes to show...
- arcticfox 11y ago
  To be fair, SF is significantly more expensive to live in than Seattle. MSFT gives something like a blanket ~10% higher offer to SV-area employees for this reason.
  - amznnewgrad 11y ago
    Fair point! Though even Microsoft in Seattle pays $100k (source: former roommate).

8788mar3 11y ago

I think the vesting schedule is back loaded because they give you a pretty large sign on bonus in the first two years. Your total comp in year one would have been 112.6k which seems about right. The stock price doubled last year, so you would have been looking at at least 125k in year two.

amznnewgrad 11y ago
Given the competition, I don't think the sign-on bonus is that large. It only barely makes up for the difference in salary that you can get from a competitor. E.g you can easily pull $100k to $110k in base pay from similar companies out of school (think LinkedIn, Twitter, FB, Uber). Even well respected startups pay more than $90k (and that's not including any additional bonuses they will surly pay)