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For comparison, I started around the same time, never used LinkedIn and still ended up with a job title similar to yours, making a little more than 400k. This i

For comparison, I started around the same time, never used LinkedIn and still ended up with a job title similar to yours, making a little more than 400k. This is simply a standard rate for someone with 10 yoe who bothers to change jobs.

TheRealDunkirk 6y ago
These FAANG salaries mystify me. Here I am, in the mid-west, working for a manufacturing company, as a programmer/sysadmin/devop in an engineering department, with 25 years of experience, making almost the top end of what's possible for a non-managerial role, and my salary is NOTHING like that. I just worked with 2 of the world's leading experts in my field -- they literally wrote and created systems to implement the government spec which governs most of our work -- and learned that their salaries -- while staggering in this industry -- weren't even half of this. Sometimes I look at this disparity, and want to take a crack at switching industries, but, frankly, it's intimidating. I guess it's 25 years of conditioning. In old-school manufacturing companies, $400K is VP-level pay. There's probably only a couple dozen people making that at my 30K-employee company. And here you are telling me that it's just a "standard rate" for a devop with 10 years of experience. The difference in worlds is hard to wrap my head around.
- PenguinCoder 6y ago
  Same deal here. 400k, hell even 200k to me would seem like "I've made it", and that's just accepted as normal for others? Also, been doing IT way longer than 10 years.
- lumost 6y ago
  The main difference in my observation between FAANG and the rest is the growth rate, profit margin, and preference for equity compensation. When starting at a FAANG you'll often receive a high but not outrageous compensation package with equity making up 20-30% of compensation. 4 years later the equity will often have compounded by 20-40% annually yielding the TC packages you see today. In another industry with stock that appreciates slowly or depreciates over time, the model wouldn't yield the same packages. The company buys your equity grant when you start, and has limited incentive to renegotiate/fight over the outsized reward.
  - frongpik 6y ago
    400-500k is the starting pay, though. On top of that are stock refreshes and appreciation. By year 4, some make 800k.
xtracto 6y ago
Money is crazy! Here I am, making less than 150k in a VP role of a Silicon Valley startup living in Mexico. Even though 150k living in Mexico is a great salary, $400k just is out of any proportion I can think of in my wildest dreams.
- frongpik 6y ago
  No offence, but in most startups, even the CEO is just a line manager who wouldn't make more than 200k in a second tier company. Unless you own 10% of the preferred shares in that startup, you're giving them a huge discount. If I were you, I'd exchange this VP title for a L7 manager job at bigco, make there a couple millions and start my own shop, now in the founder role.

TheRealDunkirk 6y ago

These FAANG salaries mystify me. Here I am, in the mid-west, working for a manufacturing company, as a programmer/sysadmin/devop in an engineering department, with 25 years of experience, making almost the top end of what's possible for a non-managerial role, and my salary is NOTHING like that. I just worked with 2 of the world's leading experts in my field -- they literally wrote and created systems to implement the government spec which governs most of our work -- and learned that their salaries -- while staggering in this industry -- weren't even half of this. Sometimes I look at this disparity, and want to take a crack at switching industries, but, frankly, it's intimidating. I guess it's 25 years of conditioning. In old-school manufacturing companies, $400K is VP-level pay. There's probably only a couple dozen people making that at my 30K-employee company. And here you are telling me that it's just a "standard rate" for a devop with 10 years of experience. The difference in worlds is hard to wrap my head around.

PenguinCoder 6y ago
Same deal here. 400k, hell even 200k to me would seem like "I've made it", and that's just accepted as normal for others? Also, been doing IT way longer than 10 years.
lumost 6y ago
The main difference in my observation between FAANG and the rest is the growth rate, profit margin, and preference for equity compensation. When starting at a FAANG you'll often receive a high but not outrageous compensation package with equity making up 20-30% of compensation. 4 years later the equity will often have compounded by 20-40% annually yielding the TC packages you see today. In another industry with stock that appreciates slowly or depreciates over time, the model wouldn't yield the same packages. The company buys your equity grant when you start, and has limited incentive to renegotiate/fight over the outsized reward.
- frongpik 6y ago
  400-500k is the starting pay, though. On top of that are stock refreshes and appreciation. By year 4, some make 800k.

xtracto 6y ago

Money is crazy! Here I am, making less than 150k in a VP role of a Silicon Valley startup living in Mexico. Even though 150k living in Mexico is a great salary, $400k just is out of any proportion I can think of in my wildest dreams.

frongpik 6y ago
No offence, but in most startups, even the CEO is just a line manager who wouldn't make more than 200k in a second tier company. Unless you own 10% of the preferred shares in that startup, you're giving them a huge discount. If I were you, I'd exchange this VP title for a L7 manager job at bigco, make there a couple millions and start my own shop, now in the founder role.