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Netflix doesn’t pay max pay though, they pay «5-6 year of experience at a FAANG » in cash according to levels.fyi. This does not compensate for the layoff risk

Netflix doesn’t pay max pay though, they pay «5-6 year of experience at a FAANG » in cash according to levels.fyi. This does not compensate for the layoff risk in any meaningful way.

trunnell 4y ago
Former Netflix manager here. Netflix frequently competes for L6/L7 talent against Google, Apple, and FB -- and wins. Look at the detail view on levels.fyi and sort by compensation. They pay extremely well for the best talent. But that's not really the point. Your job safety is ultimately about whether other companies would hire you. And if you're good enough to get a role at Netflix, then you can get another job extremely quickly here in the valley. Most top recruiters know that Netflix is very selective. I have yet to see anyone who was let go at Netflix struggle to get another job. They usually get multiple offers, in fact.
- throwaway_1928 4y ago
  But to have an axe constantly dangling over your head is no way to live. If you are competent, better to choose a more dignified existence along with high pay. And with Netflix stock down 72% in 6 months, the choice becomes even easier.
  - pedrosorio 4y ago
    > But to have an axe constantly dangling over your head is no way to live. If you are competent, better to choose a more dignified existence And yet, you often hear of Google's rest and vest culture and how bored people are in that environment. Some people might prefer an all-around high achiever culture, at certain points in their careers. > And with Netflix stock down 72% in 6 months Given Netflix's compensation structure (all cash) this is irrelevant unless you believe the market valuation indicates the company is doomed in the short term.
    - throwaway_1928 4y ago
      > Given Netflix's compensation structure (all cash) this is irrelevant Netflix's market valuation is extremely relevant. The only reason we are discussing Netflix on this thread is that layoffs there have begun.
      - AlchemistCamp 4y ago
        Market value fluctuations aren't the same thing as profit or even revenue. A company doesn't suddenly lose money and have to lay people off due to others trading its stock for less money. And they don't get rich when the stock price goes up, either. Unless they sell more shares in a secondary public offering or similar, their cash flows stay the same. The effect is much more subtle and it has more of an impact on companies where equity is a big part of employee compensation.
        lumost 4y ago
        Variable stock compensation for engineers does have the benefit that it fluctuates with investor perceptions of company performance. In theory investors may not care about compensation in a flat/growth stock, but seeing a 10% decline in personnel expenses on a stock down 25% is definitely appealing to investors.
        throwaway_1928 4y ago
        Market value and revenue/profit are not the same thing but they are very related. Netflix's market value falling 72% means the market has a negative view of Netflix's foreseeable ability to sustain or grow revenues and profits. You are right in that it is possible that Netflix has the market fooled and in reality is growing its revenues and profits and cash flows at an even greater rate than expected and it is all just one big misunderstanding. If that is the case, Netflix can always choose to 'go private', where it no longer sees a need for public market funding and believes that savvy private investors combined with its revenues and cash flows can fund its operations and growth. But as a public company, its stock price and market value also signify access to capital. The less capital Netflix has access to, the less it can invest in its existing and growth operations, like the 100s of shows it creates every year. With access to less capital, Netflix will keep on fewer of its 'dream team athlete' workers, even with their all cash and no stock compensation, which is why we are starting to see layoffs.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    If you’re “living in a position of f%%% you” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xdfeXqHFmPI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xdfeXqHFmPI) which you should be in a couple of years making a Netflix salary, a layoff is just an inconvenience. Heck how many software engineers at any of the top tech companies have trouble finding a job quickly?
    - throwaway_1928 4y ago
      Agreed. Being laid off after a couple of years at 500k/yr is better than grinding it out for a decade at 100k/yr. And you can always choose the grind after the layoff.
daniel-cussen 4y ago
OK this sounds like a disagreement, after you spoke the air was full of disagreement-sounding words, but this is an agreement with the parent posters. So yeah that's what you want, pony up the cash, pay the best demand the best fire everyone else, that's not for you--that's, that's not for you--but it is for someone, like if my fgemm.com thing goes to shit which it technically could hey maybe Netflix. By all means. High stakes, exactly like they said, like a pro sports team. Those teams have really high turnover let's just say, you can get fired like a bullet out of a machine gun, very rapidly. Right away. So really it's not a question of quality--as though such a thing existed among employers--it's a question of elitism, and Netflix pays the price of being elitist. Which many places don't, they say they only hire the best bla bla well first off they don't hire the best because they didn't hire me, so second best in the most favorable view, and second off they want to...uh...pay the median for the best. Paying 50 percentile salaries--not even 51 percentile, just 50 percentile--for 99 percentile people according to their unpaid homework. Which is not worth a fuck, you can put original research and break impossibility limits on the unpaid homework, it won't matter if they smell excess dignity. DNANexus and JITX got crazy results and they didn't bite why? Don't know. Yeah I'm a fucking arrogant guy[1] I can read what I write but still, that's consistent with being the best (at the particular thing I do best, which isn't everything by any means, but programming interviews I always, always, always nail without prep), but they don't want spine. No spine. Except Elon Musk, weirdly enough. A few other places. Netflix too it appears, well like those sport teams, there's fucking arrogant guys there too, most athletes. Elitism means flowing with that, and most companies just don't. And in general, most places saying they're hiring? Are actually firing. Not hiring, so much as firing. They're not growing, they're trying to diminish those W-2 line items with cheaper replacements, so there's a built-in cap to what you can ask of them, and then you hit a wall. And you're competing back and forth with a guy you can't talk to. They rip the job description of his resume. So at least Netflix is consistent. [1] To the point I consider myself a slave of GOD, knowing the last shall be the first (Matthew KJV).
- StillLrning123 4y ago
  That was like reading a quote from "The Wolf of Wall Street" or "American Psycho".
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

Netflix doesn’t pay max pay though, they pay «5-6 year of experience at a FAANG » in cash according to levels.fyi. This does not compensate for the layoff risk in any meaningful way.

trunnell 4y ago

Former Netflix manager here. Netflix frequently competes for L6/L7 talent against Google, Apple, and FB -- and wins. Look at the detail view on levels.fyi and sort by compensation. They pay extremely well for the best talent. But that's not really the point. Your job safety is ultimately about whether other companies would hire you. And if you're good enough to get a role at Netflix, then you can get another job extremely quickly here in the valley. Most top recruiters know that Netflix is very selective. I have yet to see anyone who was let go at Netflix struggle to get another job. They usually get multiple offers, in fact.

throwaway_1928 4y ago
But to have an axe constantly dangling over your head is no way to live. If you are competent, better to choose a more dignified existence along with high pay. And with Netflix stock down 72% in 6 months, the choice becomes even easier.
- pedrosorio 4y ago
  > But to have an axe constantly dangling over your head is no way to live. If you are competent, better to choose a more dignified existence And yet, you often hear of Google's rest and vest culture and how bored people are in that environment. Some people might prefer an all-around high achiever culture, at certain points in their careers. > And with Netflix stock down 72% in 6 months Given Netflix's compensation structure (all cash) this is irrelevant unless you believe the market valuation indicates the company is doomed in the short term.
  - throwaway_1928 4y ago
    > Given Netflix's compensation structure (all cash) this is irrelevant Netflix's market valuation is extremely relevant. The only reason we are discussing Netflix on this thread is that layoffs there have begun.
    - AlchemistCamp 4y ago
      Market value fluctuations aren't the same thing as profit or even revenue. A company doesn't suddenly lose money and have to lay people off due to others trading its stock for less money. And they don't get rich when the stock price goes up, either. Unless they sell more shares in a secondary public offering or similar, their cash flows stay the same. The effect is much more subtle and it has more of an impact on companies where equity is a big part of employee compensation.
      - lumost 4y ago
        Variable stock compensation for engineers does have the benefit that it fluctuates with investor perceptions of company performance. In theory investors may not care about compensation in a flat/growth stock, but seeing a 10% decline in personnel expenses on a stock down 25% is definitely appealing to investors.
      - throwaway_1928 4y ago
        Market value and revenue/profit are not the same thing but they are very related. Netflix's market value falling 72% means the market has a negative view of Netflix's foreseeable ability to sustain or grow revenues and profits. You are right in that it is possible that Netflix has the market fooled and in reality is growing its revenues and profits and cash flows at an even greater rate than expected and it is all just one big misunderstanding. If that is the case, Netflix can always choose to 'go private', where it no longer sees a need for public market funding and believes that savvy private investors combined with its revenues and cash flows can fund its operations and growth. But as a public company, its stock price and market value also signify access to capital. The less capital Netflix has access to, the less it can invest in its existing and growth operations, like the 100s of shows it creates every year. With access to less capital, Netflix will keep on fewer of its 'dream team athlete' workers, even with their all cash and no stock compensation, which is why we are starting to see layoffs.
- scarface74 4y ago
  If you’re “living in a position of f%%% you” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xdfeXqHFmPI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xdfeXqHFmPI) which you should be in a couple of years making a Netflix salary, a layoff is just an inconvenience. Heck how many software engineers at any of the top tech companies have trouble finding a job quickly?
  - throwaway_1928 4y ago
    Agreed. Being laid off after a couple of years at 500k/yr is better than grinding it out for a decade at 100k/yr. And you can always choose the grind after the layoff.

daniel-cussen 4y ago

OK this sounds like a disagreement, after you spoke the air was full of disagreement-sounding words, but this is an agreement with the parent posters. So yeah that's what you want, pony up the cash, pay the best demand the best fire everyone else, that's not for you--that's, that's not for you--but it is for someone, like if my fgemm.com thing goes to shit which it technically could hey maybe Netflix. By all means. High stakes, exactly like they said, like a pro sports team. Those teams have really high turnover let's just say, you can get fired like a bullet out of a machine gun, very rapidly. Right away. So really it's not a question of quality--as though such a thing existed among employers--it's a question of elitism, and Netflix pays the price of being elitist. Which many places don't, they say they only hire the best bla bla well first off they don't hire the best because they didn't hire me, so second best in the most favorable view, and second off they want to...uh...pay the median for the best. Paying 50 percentile salaries--not even 51 percentile, just 50 percentile--for 99 percentile people according to their unpaid homework. Which is not worth a fuck, you can put original research and break impossibility limits on the unpaid homework, it won't matter if they smell excess dignity. DNANexus and JITX got crazy results and they didn't bite why? Don't know. Yeah I'm a fucking arrogant guy[1] I can read what I write but still, that's consistent with being the best (at the particular thing I do best, which isn't everything by any means, but programming interviews I always, always, always nail without prep), but they don't want spine. No spine. Except Elon Musk, weirdly enough. A few other places. Netflix too it appears, well like those sport teams, there's fucking arrogant guys there too, most athletes. Elitism means flowing with that, and most companies just don't. And in general, most places saying they're hiring? Are actually firing. Not hiring, so much as firing. They're not growing, they're trying to diminish those W-2 line items with cheaper replacements, so there's a built-in cap to what you can ask of them, and then you hit a wall. And you're competing back and forth with a guy you can't talk to. They rip the job description of his resume. So at least Netflix is consistent. [1] To the point I consider myself a slave of GOD, knowing the last shall be the first (Matthew KJV).

StillLrning123 4y ago
That was like reading a quote from "The Wolf of Wall Street" or "American Psycho".

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]