3 ms·

> Compensation is insane. What? > Speaking from FAANG Oh.

hotnfresh 3y ago
Comp's not insane in the rest of the industry, but is just about the only non-management route to the 1960s-1990s style middle class that remains. It's a lot of money compared to median income.
madeofpalk 3y ago
Even outside of FAANG the pay is still quite generous, at least from my experience in.... US/AU/UK/etc You get paid so much for relatively so little. Housemate was a chef who's work was so much more demanding physically and worked stupid hours, and was paid a fraction compared to developers.
- throw555chip 3y ago
  If a meal is returned by a customer, the restaurant doesn't go out of business. If a C programmer forgets a break statement, the entire western half of the US loses phone connectivity for several hours: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34665023 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34665023
  - freeplay 3y ago
    This is the rub right here. Huge mental overhead that is often not mentioned. Not only the potential for great consequence (think errant deployment in AWS S3 that takes out an entire region and costs the company millions), but the requirement to constantly be evolving and learning new things. Not only learning but being proficient at them. All while not forgetting the original stuff you knew.
    - thorncorona 3y ago
      > the requirement to constantly be evolving and learning new things. when is this not the case? there are no fields that pay well where stagnation is acceptable. not in (real) engineering, not in the sciences, not in legal, business, marketing, etc.
  - madeofpalk 3y ago
    Most developers are making are not C programmers responsible for half of US phone connectivity.
freeplay 3y ago
I'm just saying, compare what you're making to the average person your age. Take into account the amount of debt that comes along with some of the professions requiring extensive schooling. Also consider the conditions and work life balance (ex: welders can make a great deal of money however they are often away from home for months and work 6-7 days a week in rough conditions). Even if you're not at FAANG, overall, we're making a lot of money working from a comfy chair with little to no required debt.
- Yhippa 3y ago
  Have you worked with people at the same professional level outside of FAANG? There are a lot of companies outside of those BigCo tech companies that pay well without the stressors that you mention.
  - Infinitesimus 3y ago
    Got some examples in mind?

Comp's not insane in the rest of the industry, but is just about the only non-management route to the 1960s-1990s style middle class that remains. It's a lot of money compared to median income.

madeofpalk 3y ago

Even outside of FAANG the pay is still quite generous, at least from my experience in.... US/AU/UK/etc You get paid so much for relatively so little. Housemate was a chef who's work was so much more demanding physically and worked stupid hours, and was paid a fraction compared to developers.

throw555chip 3y ago
If a meal is returned by a customer, the restaurant doesn't go out of business. If a C programmer forgets a break statement, the entire western half of the US loses phone connectivity for several hours: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34665023 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34665023
- freeplay 3y ago
  This is the rub right here. Huge mental overhead that is often not mentioned. Not only the potential for great consequence (think errant deployment in AWS S3 that takes out an entire region and costs the company millions), but the requirement to constantly be evolving and learning new things. Not only learning but being proficient at them. All while not forgetting the original stuff you knew.
  - thorncorona 3y ago
    > the requirement to constantly be evolving and learning new things. when is this not the case? there are no fields that pay well where stagnation is acceptable. not in (real) engineering, not in the sciences, not in legal, business, marketing, etc.
- madeofpalk 3y ago
  Most developers are making are not C programmers responsible for half of US phone connectivity.

freeplay 3y ago

I'm just saying, compare what you're making to the average person your age. Take into account the amount of debt that comes along with some of the professions requiring extensive schooling. Also consider the conditions and work life balance (ex: welders can make a great deal of money however they are often away from home for months and work 6-7 days a week in rough conditions). Even if you're not at FAANG, overall, we're making a lot of money working from a comfy chair with little to no required debt.

Yhippa 3y ago
Have you worked with people at the same professional level outside of FAANG? There are a lot of companies outside of those BigCo tech companies that pay well without the stressors that you mention.
- Infinitesimus 3y ago
  Got some examples in mind?