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I think we can say similar things about Google engineers working on making infinitesimally small ad targeting efficiency gains, yet this group typically has muc

I think we can say similar things about Google engineers working on making infinitesimally small ad targeting efficiency gains, yet this group typically has much less vitriol directed at them, though the degree to which this is the case may differ. The counter argument to this would be that said efforts help fund more genuinely beneficial work such as their recent work in robotics and proliferation of internet availability globally, but how the net balance of talent productivity plays out is murky. The ad team is a large, multifaceted team inside Google.

nerfhammer 12y ago
Difference being engineers don't get paid as much – though perhaps they should be. Finance guys are much more aggressive about capturing more of the revenue they create in salary and bonuses, while engineers seem to shrug at being "overpaid" while letting proportionally more of their value go to execs, investors and giant cash hoards.
- kasey_junk 12y ago
  I have not seen that to be the case. As a software developer in the HFT trade I make about the same as I would working for google. If the firms I work for take off or have particularly good years, I might make a lot more than the google salary bands, but it would be about the same as if I were an early employee (but not founder). Now if you are talking about ibank traders who HFT are replacing, that is true. Their salary bands are enormously higher than engineer pay scales. Sort of explains why they direct so much vitriol towards HFT.
  - hkmurakami 12y ago
    In general though, finance firms (at least the publicly traded ones where we can see their books) reserve a higher proportion of revenue for compensation compared to tech firms. Not entirely sure at HFT shops, but I think that may be what the grandparent comment may be referring to (and I agree that we could do better if our goal were to be more equitable -- but no one has an incentive to do this on a grand scale yet)
    - kasey_junk 12y ago
      That's the thing. There are only a couple of publicaly traded HFT firms and they are tiny. Their compensation looks more like a technology firm than a "finance" firm. Remember, that the vast majority of people who make large compensation in a finance firm are essentially sales force. They are selling complex products, financial services, or operations.

nerfhammer 12y ago

Difference being engineers don't get paid as much – though perhaps they should be. Finance guys are much more aggressive about capturing more of the revenue they create in salary and bonuses, while engineers seem to shrug at being "overpaid" while letting proportionally more of their value go to execs, investors and giant cash hoards.

kasey_junk 12y ago
I have not seen that to be the case. As a software developer in the HFT trade I make about the same as I would working for google. If the firms I work for take off or have particularly good years, I might make a lot more than the google salary bands, but it would be about the same as if I were an early employee (but not founder). Now if you are talking about ibank traders who HFT are replacing, that is true. Their salary bands are enormously higher than engineer pay scales. Sort of explains why they direct so much vitriol towards HFT.
- hkmurakami 12y ago
  In general though, finance firms (at least the publicly traded ones where we can see their books) reserve a higher proportion of revenue for compensation compared to tech firms. Not entirely sure at HFT shops, but I think that may be what the grandparent comment may be referring to (and I agree that we could do better if our goal were to be more equitable -- but no one has an incentive to do this on a grand scale yet)
  - kasey_junk 12y ago
    That's the thing. There are only a couple of publicaly traded HFT firms and they are tiny. Their compensation looks more like a technology firm than a "finance" firm. Remember, that the vast majority of people who make large compensation in a finance firm are essentially sales force. They are selling complex products, financial services, or operations.