Ask HN: Switching to Engineering Role=Compensation Reduction? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Switching to Engineering Role=Compensation Reduction?

14 pointsike_d15 comments

I am switching my role from a traveling consultant (Monday-Friday at a customer site) to a pure engineering role (work in the office). My employer, a multi-billion Silicone Valley-based software company insists that I take a (somewhat) significant (~10%) total compensation reduction by saying that they pay premium for traveling. I already negotiated this down to 10% reduction (initially it was more like 30%), and they say it is final. I didn't think it was the norm in the industry, but I wanted to validate this against a larger pool.

My likely choices are: 1. Take their offer and move on. 2. Take a stand with a potential of being forced to resign. 3. [Your suggestion]?

I am very stable financially, so leaving is not detrimental in the short term (6-12 months).

Have you been in this situation? How did you deal with it?

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Without a literal dollar figure, it is hard to say.

There is a premium on travel, and field work. A lot is going to depend on your office culture. I know quite a few firms where field engineers have a rough job and the guys back at the shop work 9-5.

In a larger company, your role change, likely comes with a title change in the "HR" department (from something like "SALES ENGINEER" or "FEILD ENGINEER" to "ENGINEER I/II/III). Every one with the same shadow title is probably stuck in some "pay band". By keeping these bands tight you avoid a lot of potential for discrimination lawsuits. You might not see the pay cut at a smaller company but the title change at a bigger company makes it "likely".

If I look at your 1 and 2 options, ( 1. Take their offer and move on. 2. Take a stand with a potential of being forced to resign. ) There really isn't a difference except your pay while looking for a new job. "Forced to resign" is a misnomer, and I know people who have spent years on PIP's as employers tried to squeeze them out doing little and collecting a check. There is also the "your fired" speech, it is an at will state and you never know if your HR department has a wild hair up their ass.

I suspect that no matter what you choose to do, it is time for you to start looking for a new job.

There are good reasons to pay people who travel more. Mostly that business travel sucks, not just for the discomfort but also for the damage it does to personal relationships regularly being gone.

I find it strange to expect to move to a lower comped role and keep the comp from the higher role.

I would find it stranger if he didn't at least try!

Of course traveling pays more, it's more stressful and generally consumes more of your life. I would expect a smaller paycheck if the number of things I am willing to do for the company decreases.

I find that endlessly arguing with your employer puts a Target on your back. Take what they'll give and if you don't like it, start the job hunt in the background.

edited for spelling.

Take their offer and start looking for a new job. In my experience I make significantly more working for a big company in Seattle with no travel than I ever did as a traveling consultant.

Yes, this!

Just speaking personally, if I had a normal software engineering job and my employer wanted to add travel to the requirements, it would take a lot more than 10% to get me to agree.

What are the differences in the base versus variable (e.g. bonus) pay for SWE versus consultant? At one point I was in a travel heavy role and I got a fairly good bonus based on utilization/billable hours. Overall the consultants made more than the SWEs in the same company at similar levels because of the bonuses.

The above wasn't true for the associate (basically entry level) and regular consultant levels. Level 1 and 2 SWEs could make more money and had far more career options.

I got tired of travel and moved on to a low-travel role at a different company where I got a paid more. You should explore that.

That being said, I'd have gladly taken a 10% paycut (at least temporarily) to stop traveling. Consulting roles require a different set of skills than a pure engineering role so it might make sense to switch jobs and hone your skills for 6 months or so. Then interview and move on. Or, if you perform well, ask for a promotion.

It's a little hard to know whether this is reasonable or not without knowing more about the circumstances (dollar amounts, is this change your decision or theirs?).

I haven't experienced it personally but I've had friends in similar situations. It's not uncommon for traveling roles to have additional incentives.

I worked for a company that regularly added an additional percentage to your salary if you were on a temporary relocation or were regularly traveling for your role. This was to account for the inconvenience of being away from home, family, etc. When you returned home permanently that percentage was removed.

I would ask if there is a documented policy discussing the compensation differences between traveling and in office roles. A company of the size you mentioned should have a policy for this kind of thing. Understanding the policy should help in your communication with HR.

Not knowing what your role was at the customer site makes it hard to give contextual advice but, if traveling was wrecking your personal life and you see more opportunities for growth in the office, I’d take the cut.

Don’t know if you’re switching titles, responsibilities, whether the on site work ebbs and flows/is seasonal either but if your only immediate goal is to preserve or grow income I’d start looking around like everyone else in this thread has said.

Industry norm doesn't matter, company policy does. Are you so unaware of your company's pay practices that you don't know if this is true? Ask HR for policy documentation and go from there.

I do agree if I am reading correctly, you can afford the cut but you don't want to be screwed. So if you like the job and that's the policy, take the cut. If you don't like the job, leave even if you can get the same pay rate.

It sounds like you should take a stand and tell them you're not taking a reduction in pay.

Simply not getting travel time / paid per mile anymore would be one thing, but a 10% reduction in compensation is another.

Are you switching because you want to or are you forced to switch and take a pay-cut? Either way you shouldn't put up with it but knowing that detail can paint a very different picture.

Never take a pay cut unless it's on your terms and what you want. It seems evident you want out of this situation.

Thanks, everyone. Very helpful.

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