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Full disclosure, my wife is a gitLabber. Gitlab is uncomfortably transparent with how they compensate their employees. Given their remote policy and openness re

Full disclosure, my wife is a gitLabber. Gitlab is uncomfortably transparent with how they compensate their employees. Given their remote policy and openness regarding compensation, no one is surprised with their pay and everyone can take it or leave it, which you can view https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-compensation/#compensation-calculator https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-c... If you are a developer / professional living in a rural area and don't want to move or have a commute, I'm certain you'd find gitLab both lucrative and a fun place to work.

deleted 9y ago
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bluelu 9y ago
If they were consequent about paying less or more depending on where you live, they would also charge their customers less or more depending on where they live.
- relaunched 9y ago
  I'd imagine, like most companies, they charge their customers based-on willingness to pay related to market forces and the value they deliver. While the argument you're making is sound, I'd challenge you to think of it this way: gitLab wants the best talent, no matter where they live. If they happen to live in a high cost area, vs someone that lives in a low cost area, both uniquely qualified, would it make sense to make sure two qualified candidates get approximately the same buying power's worth of compensation? Companies already adjust base pay based on your location, Google, for example. It also takes a bit of the good versus bad negotiator penalty out of the equation, which provides a level of fairness that doesn't exist in most companies.
  - StavrosK 9y ago
    > they charge their customers based-on willingness to pay related to market forces and the value they deliver. So do I, that's why I don't work for a company that says "well you life in a low-cost area, so you need to charge us less". Their policy is transparent, and it is take-it-or-leave-it. I think the salary gripes you're hearing from many commenters is that they are leaving it, when they'd very much like to work for Gitlab, as it's a company I personally like. However, what they're doing will either get them developers in the most highly-paid areas (where their salaries are actually competitive) or lower-paid developers that are actually not the best their local market has to offer (because the best developers are already employed elsewhere for higher pay). So, in essence, what they're doing is limiting their top-tier prospects to people who live in high-cost areas. As another commenter said at some point, living in the Valley has such high cost because there are benefits to it. Developers in SF can find a job more or less the minute they walk out of the door of one company, and that's something that's expensive. I don't have the same luxury, and Gitlab says "well, since you aren't paying for the privilege of job liquidity, we'll give you a lot less money".
imsofuture 9y ago
Hi, I live in a rural area and work remotely for a market-rate salary. I'm not less valuable because of my zip code.
- relaunched 9y ago
  You should work for whatever you can negotiate; and you are worth what someone is willing to pay you. That being said, in order to align with their values of transparency, they shared an algorithm that makes sense. It's not the only way to do it, but it's transparent and doesn't seem unreasonable. Startups are about alignment to the big picture and long-term. I'd imagine that's why they don't change equity based on location. However, The free market being what it is, some will take it and others won't.
  - imsofuture 9y ago
    I think my point is that their algorithm does not make sense. And is unreasonable. Anyway, more power to them, great way to filter out remotes who know what they're worth for no particular reason.

deleted 9y ago

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bluelu 9y ago

If they were consequent about paying less or more depending on where you live, they would also charge their customers less or more depending on where they live.

relaunched 9y ago
I'd imagine, like most companies, they charge their customers based-on willingness to pay related to market forces and the value they deliver. While the argument you're making is sound, I'd challenge you to think of it this way: gitLab wants the best talent, no matter where they live. If they happen to live in a high cost area, vs someone that lives in a low cost area, both uniquely qualified, would it make sense to make sure two qualified candidates get approximately the same buying power's worth of compensation? Companies already adjust base pay based on your location, Google, for example. It also takes a bit of the good versus bad negotiator penalty out of the equation, which provides a level of fairness that doesn't exist in most companies.
- StavrosK 9y ago
  > they charge their customers based-on willingness to pay related to market forces and the value they deliver. So do I, that's why I don't work for a company that says "well you life in a low-cost area, so you need to charge us less". Their policy is transparent, and it is take-it-or-leave-it. I think the salary gripes you're hearing from many commenters is that they are leaving it, when they'd very much like to work for Gitlab, as it's a company I personally like. However, what they're doing will either get them developers in the most highly-paid areas (where their salaries are actually competitive) or lower-paid developers that are actually not the best their local market has to offer (because the best developers are already employed elsewhere for higher pay). So, in essence, what they're doing is limiting their top-tier prospects to people who live in high-cost areas. As another commenter said at some point, living in the Valley has such high cost because there are benefits to it. Developers in SF can find a job more or less the minute they walk out of the door of one company, and that's something that's expensive. I don't have the same luxury, and Gitlab says "well, since you aren't paying for the privilege of job liquidity, we'll give you a lot less money".

imsofuture 9y ago

Hi, I live in a rural area and work remotely for a market-rate salary. I'm not less valuable because of my zip code.

relaunched 9y ago
You should work for whatever you can negotiate; and you are worth what someone is willing to pay you. That being said, in order to align with their values of transparency, they shared an algorithm that makes sense. It's not the only way to do it, but it's transparent and doesn't seem unreasonable. Startups are about alignment to the big picture and long-term. I'd imagine that's why they don't change equity based on location. However, The free market being what it is, some will take it and others won't.
- imsofuture 9y ago
  I think my point is that their algorithm does not make sense. And is unreasonable. Anyway, more power to them, great way to filter out remotes who know what they're worth for no particular reason.