4 ms·

Why Gitlab pays local rates

7 points by tnolet 8y ago

tnolet 8y ago
hard problem to crack, but the reasoning in the "Standard pay eats away at production and personnel" paragraph is a bit simplistic. It's not explaining or supporting the "why". It is just stating the obvious.
arpinum 8y ago
payng Different wages where there is freedom of movement does not make sense to me, especially since only 1/3 of wage difference gets eaten up by rent in my location. It almost traps people to stay in London when they could be much healthier and more productive working in Portugal. I don’t see why they even need people in London for geographic diversity. Also, their salary calculator for my area is 30% below market, so something is off.
- tnolet 8y ago
  Again, this is a pretty though thing to do fairly as what is fair is basically subjective.
- tnolet 8y ago
  Weirdly, the salary for a role suitable to me is kinda above market rate.
fxfan 8y ago
When I choose to live in, say, Shanghai- it doesn't automatically reduce my cost of living. I'm losing the security of clean drinking water so bottled water costs me- ~30$ per month. I'm giving up on social security but need to invest in a way that I have it. I'm giving up on safety regulations so have to buy and do things accordingly. In the end the cost of living equals out. I do not living in London so I need to manage my own health. Any argument about local rates is bogus
- ukoki 8y ago
  Shanghai and London may have similar costs of living after certain factors are accounted for, but that’s a coincidence not a rule. Compare Manchester and London. London has much higher rents and higher prices in shops, bars and restaurants. Everything else is about the same. Ergo, London has a higher cost of living.
ergocoder 8y ago
There are two weak points that I can see: I live in Bay Area as a single person. Even though the living cost is high, I still save more than $100,000 USD per year. Think about it. A $3,000 monthly apartment is only $36,000 a year If Gitlab pays a local rate, and, say, I live in Vietnam (where I'm from), it's almost impossible to reach $100,000 USD in savings. Bay Area's cost of living is high. But the salary is way way higher. If I joined Gitlab, I'd just move to Bay Area for an instant increase in my saving performance. Another one point is that Gitlab will be at a great disadvantage in hiring outliers (e.g. someone extraordinary). They're gonna demand the Bay Area's rate no matter where they live. But I suppose Gitlab will definitely make exceptions for these kinds of people.

7 points by tnolet 8y ago

hard problem to crack, but the reasoning in the "Standard pay eats away at production and personnel" paragraph is a bit simplistic. It's not explaining or supporting the "why". It is just stating the obvious.

arpinum 8y ago

payng Different wages where there is freedom of movement does not make sense to me, especially since only 1/3 of wage difference gets eaten up by rent in my location. It almost traps people to stay in London when they could be much healthier and more productive working in Portugal. I don’t see why they even need people in London for geographic diversity. Also, their salary calculator for my area is 30% below market, so something is off.

tnolet 8y ago
Again, this is a pretty though thing to do fairly as what is fair is basically subjective.
tnolet 8y ago
Weirdly, the salary for a role suitable to me is kinda above market rate.

fxfan 8y ago

When I choose to live in, say, Shanghai- it doesn't automatically reduce my cost of living. I'm losing the security of clean drinking water so bottled water costs me- ~30$ per month. I'm giving up on social security but need to invest in a way that I have it. I'm giving up on safety regulations so have to buy and do things accordingly. In the end the cost of living equals out. I do not living in London so I need to manage my own health. Any argument about local rates is bogus

ukoki 8y ago
Shanghai and London may have similar costs of living after certain factors are accounted for, but that’s a coincidence not a rule. Compare Manchester and London. London has much higher rents and higher prices in shops, bars and restaurants. Everything else is about the same. Ergo, London has a higher cost of living.

ergocoder 8y ago

There are two weak points that I can see: I live in Bay Area as a single person. Even though the living cost is high, I still save more than $100,000 USD per year. Think about it. A $3,000 monthly apartment is only $36,000 a year If Gitlab pays a local rate, and, say, I live in Vietnam (where I'm from), it's almost impossible to reach $100,000 USD in savings. Bay Area's cost of living is high. But the salary is way way higher. If I joined Gitlab, I'd just move to Bay Area for an instant increase in my saving performance. Another one point is that Gitlab will be at a great disadvantage in hiring outliers (e.g. someone extraordinary). They're gonna demand the Bay Area's rate no matter where they live. But I suppose Gitlab will definitely make exceptions for these kinds of people.