> What kind of companies pay software engineers 300k+? The big ones. Google Facebook Microsoft Amazon. > Is it realistic to make 500k-1 million+ at these comp

> What kind of companies pay software engineers 300k+? The big ones. Google Facebook Microsoft Amazon. > Is it realistic to make 500k-1 million+ at these companies as a developer? It's realistic but not a given. You've gotta be into staff software engineer+ range to be making that much. Plenty of people never make staff. > How much is it in stocks/rsus vs salary at that point? Probably around 50/50. 50 salary 50 bonus + rsus. Or maybe even 40 salary 60 bonus + rsu. > What skillsets do these people have? Be one of the better software engineers at a company that can curate top engineers. Strong communication, high interpersonal skills, ability to lead complex software projects, high intelligence, fast learner, breadth and depth of understanding of software. Plays well with others. Generalist -- able to work in a variety of languages with different tools, with no hesitation to learn and quickly understand new environments. These engineers may be domain experts at specific things, but they are by no means pigeonholed. Usually, but not always, these engineers are also very productive and motivated.