The old guard (MS, IBM etc.) seem stingy indeed when it comes to comp (except for executives, who seem to be compensated somewhat similarly across the board).

The old guard (MS, IBM etc.) seem stingy indeed when it comes to comp (except for executives, who seem to be compensated somewhat similarly across the board). The newer software firms are much much better at adequately compensating software engineers, and especially senior software engineers. If you are a senior software engineer you should seriously consider trying getting compensated along those lines.