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Is $500k really "average" engineer compensation at top tech companies? That's the average compensation for an L6 at Google, which has an average tenure of 13.2

by ddlutz 6y ago

Is $500k really "average" engineer compensation at top tech companies? That's the average compensation for an L6 at Google, which has an average tenure of 13.2 years https://www.levels.fyi/charts.html https://www.levels.fyi/charts.html. Many people will max-out at L5 in there careers. Compensation is really good in tech, but I don't think saying "$500k/yr total comp for average engineers" is helping anybody.

cmckn 6y ago
> Is $500k really "average" engineer compensation at top tech companies? (from my own experience) Absolutely not.
- MuffinFlavored 6y ago
  What is average compensation at top tech companies if average compensation at normal companies is $120k-$160k/yr? https://www.levels.fyi/ https://www.levels.fyi/ you can't scroll 15 seconds there without running into a $250k+ compensation package.
  - cmckn 6y ago
    > average compensation at normal companies is $120k-$160k/yr This also doesn't like up with my experience. It's hard to get true averages for things like this in America. Also, 250k is a lot less than 500k. It's still a ton of money -- I don't mean to say that top companies don't pay you well. They absolutely do. But 500k is a TON of money.
Infinitesimus 6y ago
Not even close to it. Anecdotally, most are between low $100k to $400k depending on level, luck and tenure. However stacking RSU appreciation and refreshers can skew those numbers a lot. The $500k plus is L6+ or Netflix-like companies
- pavlov 6y ago
  I find it a bit strange that people count stock appreciation when reporting total compensation. It’s not very helpful for someone looking to compare salaries. Those RSUs and refreshers are always granted based on a dollar amount that gets divided by current stock price, and that’s the value that the company recognizes in its accounting. Stock price increases are nice, but they distort the picture of how the company is valuing your compensation internally.
  - ryandrake 6y ago
    Plus, that stock compensation vests typically over 4 years then goes away. A few companies do “refresh” grants to partially make up for this, but you’ll never get up to the amount you got in your first 4 years. It’s not uncommon to take a 25-50% TC cut going into year 5 (ask me how I know). When people come into HN salary threads and say things like “software engineers make $500k” what they really mean is: “Some outlier high level software engineers at a handful of FAANG companies in the Bay Area can potentially top out at $500k total compensation in year 4 if they are in a fast rising stock market, and if they are master negotiators.”
    - joshuamorton 6y ago
      > Plus, that stock compensation vests typically over 4 years then goes away. A few companies do “refresh” grants to partially make up for this This depends on the company. Amazon and Microsoft generally don't, but facebook and Google do. If I hadn't negotiated my initial grant upward, my refresh last year (year 3) would have been the same size, and the one I'll get in a few months will very likely be larger. I'll still see a drop in comp year 5 due to an interaction between stock growth and my first year's grant being small, but ehhh. > When people come into HN salary threads and say things like “software engineers make $500k” what they really mean is Yes and no. Like L6 is certainly not common, but it's also not a particularly outlier level (I can crank of a list of 10 people at that level I work with on a weekly basis), and they're probably all pulling in something close to 500K, and will be forever.
  - joshuamorton 6y ago

by ddlutz 6y ago

cmckn 6y ago

> Is $500k really "average" engineer compensation at top tech companies? (from my own experience) Absolutely not.

MuffinFlavored 6y ago
What is average compensation at top tech companies if average compensation at normal companies is $120k-$160k/yr? https://www.levels.fyi/ https://www.levels.fyi/ you can't scroll 15 seconds there without running into a $250k+ compensation package.
- cmckn 6y ago
  > average compensation at normal companies is $120k-$160k/yr This also doesn't like up with my experience. It's hard to get true averages for things like this in America. Also, 250k is a lot less than 500k. It's still a ton of money -- I don't mean to say that top companies don't pay you well. They absolutely do. But 500k is a TON of money.

Infinitesimus 6y ago

Not even close to it. Anecdotally, most are between low $100k to $400k depending on level, luck and tenure. However stacking RSU appreciation and refreshers can skew those numbers a lot. The $500k plus is L6+ or Netflix-like companies

pavlov 6y ago
I find it a bit strange that people count stock appreciation when reporting total compensation. It’s not very helpful for someone looking to compare salaries. Those RSUs and refreshers are always granted based on a dollar amount that gets divided by current stock price, and that’s the value that the company recognizes in its accounting. Stock price increases are nice, but they distort the picture of how the company is valuing your compensation internally.
- ryandrake 6y ago
  Plus, that stock compensation vests typically over 4 years then goes away. A few companies do “refresh” grants to partially make up for this, but you’ll never get up to the amount you got in your first 4 years. It’s not uncommon to take a 25-50% TC cut going into year 5 (ask me how I know). When people come into HN salary threads and say things like “software engineers make $500k” what they really mean is: “Some outlier high level software engineers at a handful of FAANG companies in the Bay Area can potentially top out at $500k total compensation in year 4 if they are in a fast rising stock market, and if they are master negotiators.”
  - joshuamorton 6y ago
    > Plus, that stock compensation vests typically over 4 years then goes away. A few companies do “refresh” grants to partially make up for this This depends on the company. Amazon and Microsoft generally don't, but facebook and Google do. If I hadn't negotiated my initial grant upward, my refresh last year (year 3) would have been the same size, and the one I'll get in a few months will very likely be larger. I'll still see a drop in comp year 5 due to an interaction between stock growth and my first year's grant being small, but ehhh. > When people come into HN salary threads and say things like “software engineers make $500k” what they really mean is Yes and no. Like L6 is certainly not common, but it's also not a particularly outlier level (I can crank of a list of 10 people at that level I work with on a weekly basis), and they're probably all pulling in something close to 500K, and will be forever.
- joshuamorton 6y ago