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I think this is a better example of dysfunction in academia than retaining/training a workforce. In particular, previous articles suggest that most folks saw th
by cgearhart 11y ago
I think this is a better example of dysfunction in academia than retaining/training a workforce. In particular, previous articles suggest that most folks saw their salaries doubled, with six-figure incentive checks to lure them away. From what I hear, it's not so much that the new salary is unusually high for industry researchers and engineers, but that the old salaries were unusually low (except in academia).
CMU could probably have gotten better return if they hadn't made it a point to underpay them so much compared to their market value.
- walterbell 11y agoHistorically, university researchers doing fundamental research with mass-market industrial applications have been spun out into a company, so that both the university and the researchers have an upside opportunity for founding equity stakes. A signing bonus or normalized salary is in an entirely different (smaller) class of compensation, especially since there was already an international track record of investment into the commercialization of self-driving vehicles.
- akgerber 11y agoI would guess that that the NREC engineers were paid locally-competitive engineering salaries in Pittsburgh, which would enable them to live a very decent lifestyle. Doubling their salaries probably was a change from $80k a year to $160k or so— from Pittsburgh to Silicon Valley pay. For reference, $160k can buy a nice house in a nice neighborhood or suburb in Pittsburgh.