Hacker News Reader

Man, really? I feel kinda screwed then that Amazon is only paying $6k, before housing & misc benefits.

Will you be interning in Seattle? If so, you're likely getting an equivalent deal to $8.5k in the Valley. Washington has no income tax and a way lower cost of living.

Even if not in Seattle, the difference between $6k and $8.5k is negligible for a 3 month internship relative to your life earnings.

Yes, I will be in Seattle. Sadly we still have to pay the state taxes of our tax home, so the tax rate of Washington versus California doesn't really affect our pay.

However, It's only negligible if it doesn't correlate linearly with a starting salary.

If my starting salary is 20% lower at Amazon than anywhere else, you can bet I won't be returning after my internship.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com