Ask HN: How to maximize income working as a SWE for 1 year?
Longer version:
In the fairly recent past I left my job as a software engineer to travel around and enjoy some time off. Due to the current pandemic, my travels have been paused since March and I don't expect them to return to full-form until at least summer 2021 (maybe borders will re-open towards the end of this summer and there'll be a short tourist season, but I'm not counting on crowded backpacker hostels, large cultural sites, or music festivals being the same this year). So, if I can't travel the way I like for the next year I figure I might as well get back on the saddle and try to maximize my income for the next 12 months.
So my question is: what are the best options as a SWE to make the most money in a year? And what is the expected income in that 1 year? A bit about me: some years as a software engineer at a well-known tech company and an undergrad degree from a top US university.
The most obvious answer to me seems to work at a FAANG, particularly Google, known to pay a high salary and without a 1-year cliff plus quarterly or even monthly RSU vesting, with an expected income in the $200-300k range. Start-ups might offer more equity, but I'm not planning to stick around long enough to make it worth it, and companies that backload their vesting too much (eg: Amazon) are also sub-optimal. Of course this is all assuming I can get the job in the first place, I just want to know what the best options are before I start applying.