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Burner account. Los Angeles. I've worked in the same large public company since college (about 15 years), but have changed roles a few times. I have a bachelor'

Burner account. Los Angeles. I've worked in the same large public company since college (about 15 years), but have changed roles a few times. I have a bachelor's in Computer Engineering from a somewhat prestigious regional school. Numbers are approximate but pretty close. I left out options and RSUs because I can't remember them all, but they were typically around $5k-$10k/year with 4 year vesting. Embedded Firmware V&V: 2003: Software Engineer I. $62k/yr. 2004: Software Engineer II. $75k/yr. 2006: Sr. Software Engineer. $92k/yr. 2007-2010: ? Rapid prototyping role in same company: 2011: Principal Software Engineer. $130k/year + 10%n bonus. 2012-2016: ? Mostly a data science role. Company got bought by another large public company. 2017: Staff Software Engineer: $165k/year + 15% bonus + $10k/year RSUs w/ 3 year vest. 2018: Sr. Staff Software Engineer: $170k/year + 15% bonus + $10k/year RSUs w/ 3 year vest.

ChuckNorris89 8y ago
How did you move from embedded to data science if I may ask. I know it's a urner account but hey :)
- drhfdjdtrjh 8y ago
  Me again. Different burner. I doubt you'll read this, but hey. :) When I was in an embedded role, I had a few years to gain expertise in our product space. Then when I switched to a prototyping role, I had an opportunity to learn all about the so-called "big data" technologies. Over the years I just kept teaching myself more stats and ML, and here I am. To be honest, I'm trying to shift away from it. Data science seems to be past peak hype, and much of the work tends to be less challenging than more conventional software engineering. I'm not sure I'd be able to get a data science job outside of the company. I have no academic background in it, and that seems to be a prerequisite for most places. It's a pity, because most of the credentialed data scientists I've worked with have tended to be underwhelming.
thundergolfer 8y ago
I might be under a misapprehension, but a 5-6k pay bump for getting to Senior Staff seems low. Isn't it exponentially harder to keep going up levels, but your rate of pay increase went down.
- drhfdjdtrjh 8y ago
  (Me again under a different throwaway.) It was actually a 0% raise when I got my promotion. The $5k was from an annual merit increase beforehand. I'm not complaining too much because I like my work, and as far as I can tell my total compensation is on the far upper end for companies within commuting distance.

ChuckNorris89 8y ago

How did you move from embedded to data science if I may ask. I know it's a urner account but hey :)

drhfdjdtrjh 8y ago
Me again. Different burner. I doubt you'll read this, but hey. :) When I was in an embedded role, I had a few years to gain expertise in our product space. Then when I switched to a prototyping role, I had an opportunity to learn all about the so-called "big data" technologies. Over the years I just kept teaching myself more stats and ML, and here I am. To be honest, I'm trying to shift away from it. Data science seems to be past peak hype, and much of the work tends to be less challenging than more conventional software engineering. I'm not sure I'd be able to get a data science job outside of the company. I have no academic background in it, and that seems to be a prerequisite for most places. It's a pity, because most of the credentialed data scientists I've worked with have tended to be underwhelming.

thundergolfer 8y ago

I might be under a misapprehension, but a 5-6k pay bump for getting to Senior Staff seems low. Isn't it exponentially harder to keep going up levels, but your rate of pay increase went down.

drhfdjdtrjh 8y ago
(Me again under a different throwaway.) It was actually a 0% raise when I got my promotion. The $5k was from an annual merit increase beforehand. I'm not complaining too much because I like my work, and as far as I can tell my total compensation is on the far upper end for companies within commuting distance.