It's also important to keep in mind that there are CEO's that make 275 times their average worker, some exceeding 50k per hour.
When I see a highly paid engineer salary, I consider a form of societal progress that a skilled worker can make a good living. Something that used to be reserved only for upper management.
It is an acknowledgement from society that work we do is meaningful and valuable.
People don't understand this.
I live in suburbs near Portland, OR, and paid $330K for a 3 br, 2.5 bath, 1850 sq foot house near the end of 2015. Meanwhile, in Palo Alto, I've seen 1 br, 1 bath, 700 sq ft condos on sale for over $1.5M.
It's pretty ridiculous.
Specifically owning a home in the bay area is insane. But outside of this one thing, COL changes don't come anywhere close to matching the increased salary. Even if you are including things like childcare.
I'd expect my salary to drop by 250k if I left the bay area. After accounting for COL differences, my savings rate would be far lower elsewhere. Even if you aren't making top of line income, people still can very easily come out ahead in the bay area. That 700 sq ft condo may sell for millions, but it is still only 2.5k/month in rent.
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
The numbers you quoted are from 10+ years ago for the Bay Area.
Sounds like some apartments for even just one bedroom starts at $3,500 a month where in other parts of the US that's enough for a mortgage and all the utilities with a bunch still left over, plus the high taxes, cost of food, etc...
Personally I've been wanting to get my own startup going and probably putting the HQ after funding in Austin(but costs are starting to go up too) - someone I was talking to who's also a tech person told me I should aim for Dallas instead but he's from there so maybe bias. I was thinking maybe parts of Florida or Tennessee(Where my family is originally from) would be interesting too. Which FL or TX would be a lot warmer too so that's a plus so less winter blues probably boosts productivty and morale too, but who's maybe if you get big enough get multiple offices and a private jet haha. Also not a huge fan of dressing up either, super causal or even shorts - but I know some other startups feel that way unless you are doing meetings with clients and stuff they want you to dress up a bit nicer.
265 times the average worker sounds like a bunch! Personally I think it'd be fun to reinvest mostly in the product itself, and then set apart parts of the profit for a bonus pool but then not sure how to distribute bonuses fairly, I know I seen some companies let others review each other internally with some also. Also in tech heard that even when you take off for vacation, they still bug you and expect you to be in touch which I think isn't really good either unless you are the only person who can do something but that's bad too to depend on one person.... Kinda getting ahead of myself though, got to focus on a prototype first before thinking more about that stuff though.
But I guess if you took the risks and effort to get something started, should be awarded but 265 times sounds way too high. hmm but looks like Google's CEO gets 2 million, avg engineer is about 150K maybe. Be nice to actually be able to afford to go on vacations too, I'd love to go on a cruise or to Disney World at least once or twice a year - which is more than most people... I kinda like the idea of company retreats too and also letting people off on the holidays but I guess in tech you still need people to monitor and make sure nothing breaks and some other stuff with a minimum staff.
Not sure what the problem is - people with high compensation can also discuss how much they're making and talk about their career moves. None of it comes across as entitlement.
Also didn't get why any of it would be sad to you or why you're implying that they're not real engineers by putting quotes around the word engineers.
Like, to be an official medical Doctor you have to graduate from an accredited program, do specific training and internships, pass the boards, etc. Likewise with Lawyers you have to come out of certified law schools, pass the bar, do articling, etc. Same deal with Engineers.
Otherwise the term starts to lose meaning, such as someone being a Sanitation Engineer (Janitor) or Food Service Engineer.
I really think that this says more about you than about the people who post there. And again, you're using the word upset but nothing in the original post indicates that anyone there is upset - it's just natural for people to look to improve their situation regardless of their current level.
Agreed. Plus the only way for folks on the low levels to know what they're missing out on is if the folks on the upper levels make it clear.
It's more a matter of connections and luck if you're a CEO.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ne7ccUdOWewD4rFDQjjnQEJDgs...
450k is not even high compared to other positions.
My understanding is Snap has something like a 10/20/30/40 vesting schedule, so it's a long commitment that comes with a lot of risk relative to working at a company with a 25/25/25/25 schedule, especially if you're comparing it to Google. You should be compensated for that added risk in that case.
Plus, you'll probably be working longer hours at a Snap vs a Google.
In reality? Nothing. People should be fighting to raise the bar for everyone, but instead there's a trend to push people who are doing well down to the lowest common denominator.
I think the problem is people are envy about him.
I want to be this guy with a 450K salary.
I want to complain about it. I do envy in a good way.
Doing my best to learn and be open to opportunities. Will I succeed?
It is not fair to envy or be jealous.
How much this guy had suffered to have a "tunnel" effort to reach that point? Sometimes people are successful to escape something that is always there and WE always pay a price.. Be it on relationships, health or love.
There is Always a price.
Sometimes you don't know the price sometimes you do.
The price isn't really relationships, health, love. You get that quite easily with enough money. But it's often things like not being able to lie around watching Netflix all weekend. Someone like Bill Gates can't backpack all over the Europe even if they had the money to. Lots of royalty may not have to worry about food and housing, but they live in a gilded cage. Most of us can work 40 hours a week, but a president or CEO might not have the luxury to.
Is Apple entitled because it makes such vast profits and wants to make more? Maybe it should reduce it's product prices and all the execs take home $100k/y so they can buy a typical house in a typical city?
Why one standard for business (make profit) and a different one for employees (be humble, be reasonable, don't get too rich)?
If you work for these big companies you are just working for a machine in many regards. There is nothing personal about it even. Even if you are working for a small company, they are not your family (unless they are, but that is rare), you don't owe them to take a smaller salary so that you aren't being too greedy. Especially when you don't get the upside they could get if they sold the business.
"There’s something wrong with our society where the guy who puts mustaches on cartoon images makes half a million dollars a year, so the rest of us are glued longer in front of our little screens like zombies. God help us all and our future generations. I can’t wait for this scam/sham tech bubble to burst."
They're all forms of widespread entertainment and are valuable enough to pay good money for.
A top clickbait maker is really one of the highest forms of addiction producer.
Clickbait companies are really no different from porn or nicotine companies and top engineers today are producing said goods.
Sports and good TV are often in the former; they're addictive because they jog the mind. Even wrestling. Microtransaction games and social media often fall in the latter.
Truth is is that I deserve precisely nothing. I get what I get and not because the heavens above postulated thus but because my work had value to someone who was willing to give me money for it.