374 karma · joined March 18, 2016
-Supplies an essential good or service
-Prohibitively expensive to replicate/enormous initial investment
-Inelastic demand
-Region-specific
-Few or zero consumer alternatives
IP law is badly broken, and as it happens, those who are most disparately impacted by its flaws (startups, individuals) are also the least well equipped to fix it. Nothing will change without pain being felt by those who are capable of influence.
You are correct that this is nothing close to scientific, but that is not the goal. The goal is to increase transparency around employee compensation in order to correct the imbalance of power in salary negotiations that results from not knowing what others in similar roles are being paid.
For this, statistically valid data is not necessary. It can be enough to know of one or two individuals' compensation to shift power in a salary negotiation.
He is saying that Amazon's RSU vest schedule sucks compared to the standard used by Google and others. His income level has nothing to do with anything about that.
You're right, I am.
5% the first year
15% the second year
20% every six months thereafter
Compensation at Amazon typically is a combination of a base salary, a signing bonus (distributed over time), and a stock grant. The package is structured in such a way that the employee's total pay stays consistent over time, even though the pay comes in different forms. New hires will have their signing bonus structured over the first two years, and then it ends. At that point, the more significant stock vests begin to occur at six month intervals, so the total pay amount stays relatively the same after the bonus ends.
It may be that what I was told was correct, but they were referring only to Seattle and not places like SF where cost of living is very high.
At my annual review last year I received more stock along with a pay increase. So, thus far, yes.
>>But—adding X market value for equity vesting over Y years with 40% capital gains tax for the first 12 months of holding it leads to a 2016 pay of.... just your salary.
Can you elaborate on this? I'm not following.
>>Oh, and you get equity every else in addition to that nice pay, and they don't strap your pager to your face.
What do you suggest I do?
"Underpaid" and "overpaid" are relative terms. If you currently earn less than what you can expect to receive elsewhere for the same work, you are underpaid.
>>In the real world (outside FaceGoogAmaWallstreet), the story for developers is quite different.
Interestingly enough, this is precisely the sort of thing that this very thread is attempting to challenge. Have you noticed how many "wow I am seriously underpaid" comments have been posted?
All of this reminds me of a quote by Michael Corleone in The Godfather:
Never be embarrassed by your wealth. This recent contempt for money is still another trick of the rich to keep the poor without it.
Are you still at Amazon? If so, what is your current salary?
>> You're not getting "ripped off" by having a base salary of 125K USD (with benefits and equity) fresh out of college.
Nowhere in the thread has anyone used the term "ripped off" so I'm not sure why you put it in quotes. Your assumption that I am fresh out of college is wrong.
>> So boo-hoo to those making only 125K with equity and benefits.
I think you are misunderstanding the point of the discussion. No one is seeking any sort of pity, as you seem to be suggesting. No one here is suggesting that $125K is nearing poverty.
What we are doing is questioning the paradigm of employers enjoying a superior bargaining position in salary negotiations as a result of a social dynamic that we ourselves are furthering. Specifically, a reluctance to openly discuss compensation.
>> Tell you what, with a Bachelor's in Chemistry (in my year 176 people started, only 42 finished the degree so it's not a free lunch) I can expect to make between 40K and 60K CAD out of college and pay higher taxes than in the US. With a master's that I'm working towards, I'd be on the upper end of that spectrum.
If you are unhappy with your career choice, why don't you do something else?
RSUs are frequently given during annual performance reviews to employees with good reviews. For my first annual review I received a score of "Exceeds" which is second from the highest. For that, I got 35 RSUs worth roughly $19K when they vest (at current price).
In theory, good employees will continue to receive stock grants that vest over time, thus creating incentives to both stay and to perform well.
The reason for the throwaway is because I generally try to avoid "stirring the pot." Or at least, don't want a reputation as a pot stirrer. But if some higher up confronts me about it, I won't deny posting it.
Sites like Glassdoor are useful, but what they don't provide is company-specific detail. I can view Amazon's average SDE salary, but is that figure for a job level 4 or job level 5? (At Amazon, pay is based on job levels. Two people can hold the same position but have different job levels. For example, Area Managers who are promoted from hourly positions start at level 4, but new hire AMs come in at L5).
Other things Glassdoor can't provide:
-Pay increase percentages for internal promotions
-Pay increases and stock award amounts for annual performance reviews based on performance grade
-Compensation data broken down by race, national origin, native language, etc.
-Differences in pay for positions based on team, department, geographic location, etc.
Position: Developer (not classified as SDE, do not manage ppl)
Tenure: 2 years
Job Level: 5
Base Pay: $73,000
Signing Bonus: $25k Year 1, $21k Year 2
2016 Stock Vest: 104 shares
LY Review Score: Exceeds
LY Pay Increase: 4%, plus 35 shares of AMZN
Most Recent Promotion Increase/Stock Grant: N/A - no promotions
Gender: M
Native English Speaker: Yes