3 ms·

Ask HN: Boston developer salary expectation?

• vessenes 16y ago
  If the startup is giving you good stock participation, and has a good office environment, then yes, the salary should be lower than going to work for, say, BBN. That said, a lot comes down to what a company needs, how desparate it is, the hiring methodologies. A formally structured startup with good board support will probably have a series of salary tiers and job descriptions. A more informal one might decide your salary once they meet you, or just have a number in their head that they're willing to pay for the right person. Since you're young, you might be less salary sensitive, in which case, you can always negotiate for better equity participation -- more aggressive vest schedule, bigger multiple on salary, etc. etc. For better or worse, equity feels cheaper than cash to startups through the early part of their lifecycle. Hope this helps, and good luck. (Also, if you want to move to Minneapolis, check out my posts, I'm hiring.)
  • one_time_use 16y ago
    Thanks! You were right, I'm less salary sensitive right now so I guess I need to start researching how equity packages work. Appreciate your help!
    • vessenes 16y ago
      No problem! Fred Wilson at avc.com has some good posts on equity from the CEO/VC perspective that will help you start getting your head around it. Things to remember: stock price is meaningless, company valuation is highly important. Baked in future dilution is important. For employees, vesting schedules are screamingly critical, as are terms and conditions as to what happens when you leave. Very, very few employees make it through an entire startup lifecycle (either to mad growth, or stability, or death), so you should imagine when you read all the docs that you'll be leaving, possibly at a time when the founders are stressed or less friendly than they seem to be when you're signing the offer.