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I believe that the wage pressure moves in the other direction: most Silicon Valley firms prefer local engineers, but they're a limited resource. If you're payin

I believe that the wage pressure moves in the other direction: most Silicon Valley firms prefer local engineers, but they're a limited resource. If you're paying $2000+ in rent, you're incentivized to seek unusually high wages -- and, as a local engineer in Silicon Valley, you're in a position to do so. Employers are competing for /you/. (Of course, we shouldn't dismiss the less market-determined psychological factors at play: if you're an executive at a startup flooded with easy money in a culture that doesn't particularly value corporate fiscal responsibility, you may want to pay better-than-market for the pure gratification of doing so.)

sidlls 10y ago
Most startups, including funded startups, seem to pay significantly lower than established tech companies in this area. My anecdotal experience certainly fits that. The last time I was job searching the highest offer I got from a startup was $130k plus a hiring bonus and laughable equity with poor benefits, while the young company (IPO within the previous four years) I accepted an offer from came in at well over 20% more than that all-in. I think startups undercompensate and more or less target lottery-equity chasers.