5 ms·

I'm still struggling to put this number into context. Are they grossly overpaying rank-and-file engineers? Or are there just a lot of players elbow-deep in the

by ng12 9y ago

I'm still struggling to put this number into context. Are they grossly overpaying rank-and-file engineers? Or are there just a lot of players elbow-deep in the cookie jar?

flunhat 9y ago
Take this with a grain of salt, but I heard that some new hires at Snapchat were getting $400k+ in equity, so that might be one of the reasons why it's so high.
- what_ever 9y ago
  There were some datapoints on /r/cscareerquestions of $320k of RSUs for new grads starting last year. Although the vesting schedule was 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%.
  - ng12 9y ago
    $320k/4 years sounds doesn't sound ridiculous -- probably on par with Google or FB.
    - rifung 9y ago
      I work at Google Seattle and that seems very high to me but I could just be getting paid less than others. I was an industry hire though
      - matheweis 9y ago
        https://www.paysa.com/salaries/google https://www.paysa.com/salaries/google
      - product50 9y ago
        You are definitely paid less or are junior (IC4?). $80k/yr equity is pretty par at this level.
        rifung 9y ago
        I dont know what IC4 means but I'm an L3? Note also that I'm in Seattle which pays less than Mountain View
        shawndumas 9y ago
        IC3 === L3 and as you are in eng it's sometimes called T3
    - jpatokal 9y ago
      For a new grad that does sound kinda ridiculous. Stock is how you retain good performers, but new grads are usually unknown quantities.
      - ng12 9y ago
        Google was offering $200k over four years to some new grads a few years ago. By not ridiculous I mean compared to the market rates.
      - kobeya 9y ago
        Stock is also how you align incentives with the company's interests. That is important for top talent and new grads.
- majormajor 9y ago
  I've heard second-hand reports of larger ones than that, but the vesting was a pain and, well, it wouldn't be worth as much today already. Maybe not the most attractive time to take that bet.
Jhsto 9y ago
I don't have the experience to judge either, but I found it fascinating what some of the early employees made according to The Information: > Early employees have stakes larger than many investors, executives and board members. Two early engineers have stakes worth at least $288 million, according to data from 2014 obtained by The Information. It’s possible the two hold even more, because some employees have received additional stock grants since that time. [...] Also doing well was chief strategy officer Imran Khan, whose stock and stock award holdings were worth $374 million at the opening price, according to securities filings. > Other early employees, such as ad operations executive Philippe Browning, have stakes exceeding $100 million, according to the data. Engineering head Timothy Sehn and hardware chief Steven Horowitz have stakes exceeding $150 million, according to public filings.
forgotmysn 9y ago
it could be related to the large number of acquisitions they've made in the past year or two. a lot of those could have been for equity rather than cash
JauntTrooper 9y ago
Well, they had 600 employees as of Dec. 31, 2015. They paid them 65.1 million shares from April 2015 - Dec. 2015, which is an average of 108,500 shares per employee. Using the $17 IPO price, that's an average 2015 compensation of $1.8 million per employee that year. They had 1,859 employees by Dec. 31, 2016, and issued an additional 105 million shares in 2016, so that's an average of ~$960k per employee paid in 2016. Those are averages, of course. But I think a lot of people made a lot of money this year.

by ng12 9y ago

I'm still struggling to put this number into context. Are they grossly overpaying rank-and-file engineers? Or are there just a lot of players elbow-deep in the cookie jar?

flunhat 9y ago

Take this with a grain of salt, but I heard that some new hires at Snapchat were getting $400k+ in equity, so that might be one of the reasons why it's so high.

what_ever 9y ago
There were some datapoints on /r/cscareerquestions of $320k of RSUs for new grads starting last year. Although the vesting schedule was 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%.
- ng12 9y ago
  $320k/4 years sounds doesn't sound ridiculous -- probably on par with Google or FB.
  - rifung 9y ago
    I work at Google Seattle and that seems very high to me but I could just be getting paid less than others. I was an industry hire though
    - matheweis 9y ago
      https://www.paysa.com/salaries/google https://www.paysa.com/salaries/google
    - product50 9y ago
      You are definitely paid less or are junior (IC4?). $80k/yr equity is pretty par at this level.
      - rifung 9y ago
        I dont know what IC4 means but I'm an L3? Note also that I'm in Seattle which pays less than Mountain View
        shawndumas 9y ago
        IC3 === L3 and as you are in eng it's sometimes called T3
  - jpatokal 9y ago
    For a new grad that does sound kinda ridiculous. Stock is how you retain good performers, but new grads are usually unknown quantities.
    - ng12 9y ago
      Google was offering $200k over four years to some new grads a few years ago. By not ridiculous I mean compared to the market rates.
    - kobeya 9y ago
      Stock is also how you align incentives with the company's interests. That is important for top talent and new grads.
majormajor 9y ago
I've heard second-hand reports of larger ones than that, but the vesting was a pain and, well, it wouldn't be worth as much today already. Maybe not the most attractive time to take that bet.

Jhsto 9y ago

I don't have the experience to judge either, but I found it fascinating what some of the early employees made according to The Information: > Early employees have stakes larger than many investors, executives and board members. Two early engineers have stakes worth at least $288 million, according to data from 2014 obtained by The Information. It’s possible the two hold even more, because some employees have received additional stock grants since that time. [...] Also doing well was chief strategy officer Imran Khan, whose stock and stock award holdings were worth $374 million at the opening price, according to securities filings. > Other early employees, such as ad operations executive Philippe Browning, have stakes exceeding $100 million, according to the data. Engineering head Timothy Sehn and hardware chief Steven Horowitz have stakes exceeding $150 million, according to public filings.

forgotmysn 9y ago

it could be related to the large number of acquisitions they've made in the past year or two. a lot of those could have been for equity rather than cash

JauntTrooper 9y ago

Well, they had 600 employees as of Dec. 31, 2015. They paid them 65.1 million shares from April 2015 - Dec. 2015, which is an average of 108,500 shares per employee. Using the $17 IPO price, that's an average 2015 compensation of $1.8 million per employee that year. They had 1,859 employees by Dec. 31, 2016, and issued an additional 105 million shares in 2016, so that's an average of ~$960k per employee paid in 2016. Those are averages, of course. But I think a lot of people made a lot of money this year.