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> So market salary + $371k bonus isn't a bad deal. It isn't necessarily a great deal either though. Somebody making market salary at a startup in one of the mo
by 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
> So market salary + $371k bonus isn't a bad deal.
It isn't necessarily a great deal either though. Somebody making market salary at a startup in one of the most expensive cities in the world may very well be saving less than somebody grossing a considerable amount less in a less expensive area, and after taxes that $371,000 bonus isn't a whole lot more than the base salary for a first year associate attorney at a major law firm in New York.
So while I wouldn't call the outcome here disappointing for anybody involved, I think it does highlight the generally poor economics of equity for startup employees: even when your company hits a grand slam, the windfall is rarely a short cut to the type of wealth that is frequently achieved by starting a successful small business or going into a lucrative profession.
- krschultz 13y agoThat's neither here nor there. For one thing, software engineering is a lucrative profession. It pays more than most other white collar jobs in New York, except some law, some finance, and some consultants. But it is certainly better than the large swaths of people in marketing, HR, PR, accounting, etc. The choice of city vs not city is completely independent of the startup vs non-startup thing. If you are intent solely on maximizing cash in your pocket, then I doubt startups are the best path. If you want that, just go work on wall street. I grew up around that, and I've known for a long time that no matter how much money there is in it, it's not a great life.