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I wouldn't exactly call these problems. For (1), I agree that you might have trouble getting startups (if that's what you mean by pre-IPO) to equal the total c

I wouldn't exactly call these problems. For (1), I agree that you might have trouble getting startups (if that's what you mean by pre-IPO) to equal the total comp that big tech offers, if for no other reason that startup equity just isn't as close to cash as big tech equity is. For (2), I'd say that depends on your mindset. For both of your points, the argument is basically how does this sort of transparency affect things? While salary can always be a touchy subject, I'm generally always in favor of transparency. Having this information can make it easier for one to decide whether it's worth the effort to pursue getting a job at a big tech company, and also allow you to spot BS when some other company's recruiter says that they pay "top of market" for software engineers. So again, I wouldn't see these as problems.

JimboOmega 8y ago
As for 1) I literally meant pre-IPO. Companies that are not publicly traded. Even very very large ones(e.g. Uber) tend to issue options instead of RSUs. When you get hired, the value of those options is a big 0 - that's where they set the strike price. You can't really compare options to RSUs. You can't assume the stock will go up 50% in value or anything in particular. So they are hard to value as anything other than 0 (I'd love to hear other ways you think about it) Transparency is good. I'm not exactly against this information. I mostly wish it were available in a way that applies to the rest of us. Also, I wish it didn't make me feel bad. Call it mindset but salary discussions tend to.