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These stories scare me. Particularly from Amazon where you don't get most of your TC until year 3. At least at Netflix they pay more cash and if I get fired af

These stories scare me. Particularly from Amazon where you don't get most of your TC until year 3. At least at Netflix they pay more cash and if I get fired after a year I have it in my bank.

moron4hire 5y ago
Absolutely. And that's just your base. Every year, you're getting more and more that don't vest until this range of time that is so incredibly far out on tech industry scales. This is what kept me out of Amazon. The over-emphasis on RSUs for compensation was clearly a half-scam designed to avoid paying full salary out to people and to try to squeeze anyone who was on the fence about leaving.
- 999900000999 5y ago
  Thanks for the info. I have zero tolerance for bs so I really value being able to leave.
- bradknowles 5y ago
  I’ve been in multiple different jobs over the years where part of my compensation was stock or stock options. Sometimes it can be some real money. At AOL in 1996, I cleared more than $80k from stock options, which was more than my base salary for the year. But I ended up walking away from stock options at AOL that would have been as much as $16m, if I had managed to find a way to stay there. But the place has just become too toxic. I’ve also been at places where I theoretically had stock or stock options, and they wound up being literally worthless. Stock and stock options for employees are meant to be a form of golden handcuffs. That’s why I don’t include them in my consideration of what I would be compensated for at a job. If I get some extra money that year, great! If not, then I’m not too dejected.
tinyhouse 5y ago
That's a false statement. Amazon plans your 4 years compensation when you join with the idea that you are paid pretty equally every year. The difference is that in year 1 & 2 TC is mostly cash while in year 3 & 4 a big component of the TC is RSUs which replace the cash bonuses from year 1 & 2 (it's called bonus but it's paid regularly and not in large sums; I think they do it to keep the base salary low). The reason whey TC is often higher in year 3 & 4 is stock appreciation, but that's not guaranteed. If the stock goes up 10% every year you wouldn't see much difference. You can think about it this way. When you join, Amazon takes part of the money they need to pay you in year 3 & 4 and buy with it Amazon stock which you can sell only in year 3 & 4. (one difference is that you pay income tax on it when you receive it and not capital gain tax)
- 999900000999 5y ago
  Wait, so in year 1 and 2 I'm getting large cash bonuses? That's still inferior to getting cash upfront. Say after 10 months you have a medical issue, that means you quit to focus on healing and lose your bonus.
  - tinyhouse 5y ago
    No because it gets paid like a salary over the year with every paycheck.

These stories scare me. Particularly from Amazon where you don't get most of your TC until year 3. At least at Netflix they pay more cash and if I get fired after a year I have it in my bank.

moron4hire 5y ago

Absolutely. And that's just your base. Every year, you're getting more and more that don't vest until this range of time that is so incredibly far out on tech industry scales. This is what kept me out of Amazon. The over-emphasis on RSUs for compensation was clearly a half-scam designed to avoid paying full salary out to people and to try to squeeze anyone who was on the fence about leaving.

999900000999 5y ago
Thanks for the info. I have zero tolerance for bs so I really value being able to leave.
bradknowles 5y ago
I’ve been in multiple different jobs over the years where part of my compensation was stock or stock options. Sometimes it can be some real money. At AOL in 1996, I cleared more than $80k from stock options, which was more than my base salary for the year. But I ended up walking away from stock options at AOL that would have been as much as $16m, if I had managed to find a way to stay there. But the place has just become too toxic. I’ve also been at places where I theoretically had stock or stock options, and they wound up being literally worthless. Stock and stock options for employees are meant to be a form of golden handcuffs. That’s why I don’t include them in my consideration of what I would be compensated for at a job. If I get some extra money that year, great! If not, then I’m not too dejected.

tinyhouse 5y ago

That's a false statement. Amazon plans your 4 years compensation when you join with the idea that you are paid pretty equally every year. The difference is that in year 1 & 2 TC is mostly cash while in year 3 & 4 a big component of the TC is RSUs which replace the cash bonuses from year 1 & 2 (it's called bonus but it's paid regularly and not in large sums; I think they do it to keep the base salary low). The reason whey TC is often higher in year 3 & 4 is stock appreciation, but that's not guaranteed. If the stock goes up 10% every year you wouldn't see much difference. You can think about it this way. When you join, Amazon takes part of the money they need to pay you in year 3 & 4 and buy with it Amazon stock which you can sell only in year 3 & 4. (one difference is that you pay income tax on it when you receive it and not capital gain tax)

999900000999 5y ago
Wait, so in year 1 and 2 I'm getting large cash bonuses? That's still inferior to getting cash upfront. Say after 10 months you have a medical issue, that means you quit to focus on healing and lose your bonus.
- tinyhouse 5y ago
  No because it gets paid like a salary over the year with every paycheck.