I work at a FAANG and I will never afford a home. Who is this list for? My senior engineer coworkers live in condos unless they move 2 hours away or have a very high earning spouse
Is the situation any better in other big IT-cities in the States (Seattle, NYC) or in Europe (London, Amsterdam, Zurich, Munich)? Some of these are slightly better than SF and some are even worse IMO.
Yes, housing in the core downtowns is pricey, but get outside the city and there are decent options. This is true of a lot of places. The Bay Area makes it unusually hard to escape high pricing.
This is still wild to me.
I’m well into my career (coming close to 25 years):
— I do well when looking for work in that I interview well and get most gigs I go for.
- I trade stability for higher rates working shorter gigs without any of the usual safety net / benefits.
- Comp is top end of the range offered in a relatively well off part of the world.
And yet with all that said, $200k is still an utter pipe dream.
I’m not saying I’m necessarily jealous (I’m sure there’s the downsides I don’t see) but man-oh-man that’s a lot of money.
I’m almost reluctant to ask but what is FAANG comp typically?
The going contract dev rate is 150/hr (Java/Python).
Citation needed.
There are also roles where you just get paid way more than other roles without a need for particularly difficult expertise. People who manage very 'important' stuff for example.
Would be really curious to hear what’s out there.
Could I reach out to you separately so as not to run out of thread depth on here?
(The big question I have on this is if you have a link discussing implications for tax etc. on taking a role from the USA while based in the UK - which is an easier option for me at this time).
The amount of stock is locked in based on how many shares the dollar amount you’re offered would buy when you start, so if the share price goes up over time then that’s going to be worth more when it vests (which I guess mostly happened in the last decade), but if it drops from when you started it’s worth less (as happened in the last year, so if you started this time last year and the company stock is down 50%, that compensation is worth a lot less now).
I definitely think it’s good to be aware of what compensation at these places looks like, I wasn’t really aware of how significant the stock thing is until recently (but I had a fun career up to now so not to worry!). I guess one of the downsides is that these are often huge companies there’s a reasonable chance you’ll end up maintaining some boring internal system or whatever, so it depends what motivates you.
It's disappointing, but it's the reality for a lot of people I'm sure.
The alternative to that is contracting - London is a great place to look for that.
FWIW a random survey on the internet lists Austin TX, Miami FL, and San Diego CA as the 'most stressful commutes'
If you are making Faang money you can choose a shorter commute. 30 miles is 1-2 hours in silicon valley. My limit is 10 miles/40 mins
I was in a similar situation a few years ago, working at FAANG and living in SCV. Wanted a house more than anything.
Eventually, got relocated to a lower COL area and finally accomplished my dream of owning a home.
Inspector didn’t catch a few things, also bought at the peak of housing mania and now we are both underwater and have sunk a large chunk of our savings into making the house safe and livable for our kids.
If we would have stayed in SCV and rented we’d be in a better financial position. However, overall we are happy with our choices given we don’t have to stress about things like keeping a 3yo quiet for the neighbors who live below us.
Not saying a house won’t make you happy, just saying houses are not a complete measure of financial success.
I generally see it abbreviated as SV.
You could afford a home in most other US cities even with a pay cut from the typical FAANG salary.
And even in those areas, you can find two-unit condos in that range.
The solution is easy, don’t live in an expensive city. Or inherit property from relatives who lived there 50 years ago. Or have a rich spouse.