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Comment by throwaway0906 | Hacker News Reader

Didn't feel comfortable sharing on my real account, but thought some might find this interesting.

Gender: male Location: east coast * 2013 - Graduated without a degree in CS. Worked at small start-up for 55k, no equity.

* 2014 - Raise to 75k, 0.5%

* 2015 - Raise to 85k, 1%

* 2016 - Quit for a FAANG. 220k total comp.

* 2017 - After 2 promos at the FAANG, ~330k.

* 2018 - After good previous year, received a special stock grant and made 475k. Same eng level.

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Holy shit you went from $55k to $475k in 5 years with no college degree.

This is a big reason I'm in tech. What a rocketing salary progression.

I feel very, very lucky. I did graduate from college, just not with a degree that I currently use.

I stumbled upon programming as a senior and loved it. While at the start up, it was easy for me to spend hours a day outside of work learning because I loved every minute of of it. But it came at the cost of hobbies and a friendship. I wouldn't describe myself as motivated by money and don't tell my family and close friends how much I make.

Any advice for others?

How did you display coding knowledge without a degree in it?

How did you get hired at a FAANG what did they like about you?

Would this kind of progression not be possible in finance?

That kind of progression is probably very possible in finance, but not without a relevant degree.

So it's possible in tech, without a degree at all(OP says he has an unrelated degree)? I keep reading horror stories online of people with degrees, internships/experience, hackathons, projects, all that under their belt having a hard time in their careers. And also a lot of naysayers saying you can't make it far without a degree.

As other poster said, not without a relevant degree, and likely that the degree needs to be from a prestigious college.

You got two promos in two years? Geez

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