4 ms·
Microsoft is pretty famous among engineers for not paying unless you force their hand, but totally willing to negotiate if you do. Which is pretty much business
by HEmanZ 3y ago
Microsoft is pretty famous among engineers for not paying unless you force their hand, but totally willing to negotiate if you do. Which is pretty much business 101, so I’m not sure why anyone is surprised.
Line up another offer and watch them throw huge bonuses to retain you (if you’re really worth what you think you are). I know from my and others experience they are happy to exceed even pretty crazy external offers if you bring them to the table, they just won’t increase your pay a dime if they don’t have to.
- paxys 3y agoMicrosoft also has the advantage of operating in a state with a (relatively) low cost of living when compared to Silicon Valley and no state tax. Engineers there are very happy despite the pay cut.
- qbasic_forever 3y agoNot really, the Seattle area cost of living is very high and nearing SF levels. Average home prices are shooting up near $1m in Seattle. Even renting a studio apartment is almost impossible for less than $2k a month, it's ridiculous.
- paxys 3y agoMultiply all those numbers by 2 and you get the Bay Area.
- qbasic_forever 3y agoNot exactly. Median Bay area homes are selling for 1.2m vs. 840k in Seattle. Average studio apartment rental in SF is 3k a month vs about 2.2k in Seattle. They're both extremely high costs of living. You aren't saving that much moving to Seattle. There is a noticeable salary difference/adjustment down if moving from SF to Seattle too.
- paxys 3y agoYou literally just showed a 40% price difference between the two. Now add 10-12% state income tax on top.
- qbasic_forever 3y agoSure but it's not as bad as you're implying, and for your calculation take a 20% or more cut to your San Francisco salary to make it comparable to Seattle salaries. It's all roughly the same in the end.
- paxys 3y agoThe pay cut is exactly what we are talking about. Microsoft is able to pay inferior salaries because of the lower costs of living. So which part are you disagreeing with?
- qbasic_forever 3y agoPeople in Seattle are no more richer or "happy" (your exact words I was replying to) vs. in SF is my point. Sure a home costs a little less but you're also paid less in Seattle. It's not a dramatic 2x difference in costs (again your words).
- paxys 3y agoNo one said they are more happy than engineers in SF.