We’re getting a lot of comments from people who are not familiar with different markets. This is HN - where the focus is on Silicon Valley and associated compan

We’re getting a lot of comments from people who are not familiar with different markets. This is HN - where the focus is on Silicon Valley and associated companies. User is posting from having just left Meta. $475k as a PM with 16 YOE isn’t even remotely high when you consider probably living in one of three major cities in the US (Seattle, SF, NYC) and is working for a company known to pay such rates. This is a common compensation - not outlandish at all. The other aspect is the interviewing. People here are unfamiliar with other markets. If you’re interviewing with FAANG and crew - you probably send out hundreds of resumes. If you’re picking really desperate startups - you might get 25% reply rate if you’re in a good economy. In other scenarios, getting a 2-5% reply rate is common. Thus why people have to apply to so many places and so liberally. You’re just sending the same resume as you do everywhere else. The other thing is the interview process for a lot of these companies is harder and more selective. You’re competing with people from all over the world and many whom are on visas and want to stay in the USA. Your small shop in a city of 250k that pays one fifth what this person is used to isn’t going to be competing for the same talent. My point is - wow, yes, people get paid differently in different markets. They also have different interview processes because when you get paid a lot, it tends to bring a much stricter interviewing environment because there are often way more qualified people than they can hire. (Whether you get into FAANG is a mix of luck and preparation - most everyone is qualified enough to do the jobs even if they don’t get hired but the interview process is extremely noisy and highly selective by nature) I’ve gone through these gauntlets. I had to interview with 100 companies to get one offer. (Including 15 onsites) In other stages of my life, I interviewed with about 60 and got 6 offers. It’s hugely variable and often has little to do with you and more to do with the hiring environment. I was overqualified for most every job I’ve ever had or been interviewed for. As every job I’ve ever had has been a joke in terms of the challenge, the skills needed, or the intellect required. I’m including jobs I’ve had paying $15/hr all the way to $1m/yr. Don’t misinterpret the interview process as really being a strong signal to your ability to do the job. Especially with all the leetcode stuff.