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Comment by maybeunderpaid | Hacker News Reader

I'm SDE II an earn just a little more base than you ($117K). Judging by conversations with team members about which tax brackets we fall in and how much we save/invest per year, I'm fairly sure I'm underpaid for my level.

There's a college hire PM in my team (not PM II, so he's either 59 or 60) who's single and in the 33% bracket. That means he's making at least $189K a year.

Edit: I should add, my PM coworker could be wrong about his tax bracket. I can't fathom how they would offer him that much in base salary + stock. But he did mention being in the 33% bracket.

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I've seen some outliers, but mostly in terms of promotion velocity. I assume you know about the "bench program"? (Microsoft Fight Club) That could potentially explain it.

I really want to empathize with your underpaid for level statement, I certainly have a pile of stories, I'm just hesitant to tell them because they're rather identifying to anyone who knows me, so you'll have to trust when I say "A good number of us have gotten the short end of one stick or another, often beurocratic or political"

What's the "bench program"?

An internal "High Potential" program in which candidates get faster promo tracks, bigger promos, face to face access to higher level execs, and other perks. They are not supposed to talk about this program, as well, and it is invite only.

I had never heard of that. I'm fairly sure my team has two people in the "club". Both are quite young and are already principals.

It's really a shame how things like that that are handled, from where I stand. Turns it into the closest parallel to the cool kids table that used to exist in highschool that I've seen in the decades since then.

Also, if you're a 2 and only at a slightly higher base than I am, you're "somewhat on track" from the conversations I've had, as far as pay per level for us normals :) That being said, I really botched my negotiation when coming in and didn't push my position, which left me coming in at a 59 from an industry position with greater responsibility, and role seems almost harder to change than pay from what I've seen.

if it wasn't explicitly tied to his salary, he could also have income independent of his tenure there, either earned or inherited. it does happen.

What does 59/60 mean?

Internal level. 59 and 60 are SDE I, SDET I and PM I.

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