By comparison, I have nothing. zilch, for my hard work. Neither do most people working on core tech at AWS. That's why they empathize with their customers (I'm guessing).
It's not unique to Google. Lots of organizations intentionally build a culture of elitism. However, it means I would never, ever rely on Google for anything. Free products like search are a-okay. My email is on gmail because legacy.
Build a business on Google platforms? Nope.
Fun fact for you - if I get promoted this year at Amazon to L5, I'll _still_ make less than a new grad at Google. It's extremely depressing to the extent that I can't get out of bed in the morning, but I'd wager that inferiority complex probably helps on the product side to empathize with customers.
You make six figures at a top tech company and you’re bitterly complaining because you think you’re entitled to more, and in the same breath you’re chastising Google’s pretentious culture? There’s a lot of irony there.
Focus on improving yourself and don’t get caught up in comparing yourself to others.
I see too many people talking about their Tahoe Google offsites (jbd@ on twitter claims a bunch of her coworkers just work from Tahoe during ski season) or their Colorado skiing weekends.
Anyways, hypocrisy doesn't mean I'm wrong, and I think its valid to be mad that I'm seen as inferior daily.
Yet you still make more than what the vast majority of engineers in western Europe will ever make in their whole career. And that's still only looking at the most developed countries.
The job market isn't fair. No use getting burnt over that.
I'm also quite surprised by your wage comment: a common aphorism is that Amazon cheaps out on everything except real estate and compensation.
Which ones do and don't? Because all of the ones I've heard of have pretty loose ones compared to my organization.
And yes, Amazon doesn't cheap out on real estate because we own so much of it. It's honestly remarkable how it's done. But I was under the impression everyone knows they pay less.
I only have about ~40 stocks up from about 35 before the refresh cycle (unvested) and that's unlikely to go up if I get promoted (if you have too many they don't give you more). Googler and FB refresher values are significantly higher.
This doesn't appear to be close to true based on levels.fyi, unless you're severely underpaid for an Amazon L5.
*The net effect is "pay for performance" isn't really a thing.
The only way for me to do a significant compensation bump is to do what's called a "dive and save", but this is very rarely done for L5's and is significantly more common for L6's. I got an offer for about $200k a year ago at a hedge fund, but that wasn't eligible for dive and save because of my level and I'm (clearly) too mentally defective to pass a Facebook or Google loop.
The other more popular approach is to "play the game" as I think of it, I.e. every 18-24 months you switch to a new job with a substantial increase in pay as result.
I wish this wasn't the case, but I guess it is what it is.
"Just move" is something someone without any empathy for other people's circumstances would say - most people aren't capable of "just moving" as if the only concern is choosing an employer.
No disagreement on the good recommendation as a signal, but I doubt that'll matter to the HC if I can't pass 3/5 rounds at the minimum.
That long enough part is the kicker and that terrifies me in every job search (to the extent I have sometimes jumped at the first half decent opportunity, and agreed to salaries below my potential). I find it does help to apply often and everywhere and not be invested in any particular opportunity.
With dating they say every failed relationship is a step toward finding the right one, and I think that same principle applies to job interviews.
Anyways, that’s my two cents
Mind you, he would probably have turned us down anyway to go do a PhD, so he probably dodged a bullet.
I don’t even work on the “core tech”, I am on the consulting side, probably make less than you do (albeit in a much lower cost of living area) and I am probably older. But, I am not throwing a pity party on HN
I’m not even here to shame $150K. That’s what I was making as CRUD developer pre-Covid at 45 years old (long story) and I also graduated from a no name state school - in the 90s. $150k still means you’re making more than roughly around 80-85% of American households.
I fully understand shaming $150k, new grads at Google make $180-$210k.
You graduated from college and are now making more than most developers in the US and you work at a big tech company. You have the opportunity to leverage that and either get promoted from within or change jobs.
Are you really struggling making $150K straight out of college? You graduated from a state school (as did I) you probably don’t have that much debt.
For context, I’ve been out of college almost a quarter century and I am just now making a little more than a college grad at Google. I’m not complaining and I only have a good 10-15 years to take advantage of the opportunity. You have your whole life ahead of you.
Stop complaining, get on the grind, and do what you need to do. No one owes you a quarter million just because you walked across the stage with a CS degree.
I think the real problem is I'm not capable of doing so, at least according to the fair labor market.
> Are you really struggling making $150K straight out of college? You graduated from a state school (as did I) you probably don’t have that much debt.
I don't have any debt, I just have a really pathetic savings rate and a really low net worth compared to nearly everyone I know, including folks that didn't do "the grind" that I did. I'll probably not be able to retire or own a car, much less own a house someday.
I don't like the IQ/talent fetish that seems to pervade Anglophone culture. Some people have a stronger natural predisposition to sit and stare at a screen and figure out puzzles, and that happens to be sought after on the labor market. Doesn't mean others have less inherent value as human beings.
Would be nice to have a small appartment one day. I just try to offer some perspective.
Dude, please seek mental help. You have so many working years ahead of you. Stop worrying about owning a house. Start budgeting using something like YNAB and get your savings rate under control. Also get all the basic investment vehicles going: 401k, after tax Roth, backdoor Roth etc. You’ll do just fine.
A lot of my friends are already putting money down on houses and are making hundreds of thousands in options trading on principal that I _don't have_. I'm falling behind permanently and even maxing out my 401k (which I didn't do last year because I don't anticipate living to 65 but decided to this year) won't get me closer with a low principal.
I hate that we as a society can say that if you have signs of cancer go see an oncologist and it’s not okay to say that if you show signs of mental health issues go see a professional.
But everything about your comments and your user name points to it.