[dontblink]

Google famously underpays as it leverages it's name. Startups can't really compete on total compensation because so much is tied to equity which can be made liquid in the case of big tech. At the same time, startups don't want to give away their equity and are fairly conservative about it. I don't see this changing. The current situation will resolve itself in 1-2 yrs and we will be back again.

[makestuff]

Yeah, in the past few years startups have become super stingy with equity. In the best case you end up making the same you would at a big tech company, and the worst case you end up with nothing. I interviewed at several, and after doing the math they would all need to 10x with minimal dilution, and have an exit within 5 years to make any money. Once you realize the odds of that happening, it becomes pretty obvious that you are not being given a good deal.

[Apocryphon]

This 2019 discussion thread where HN was pushing back at a pre-YC head Garry Tan, especially this subthread, was a memorable example of devs complaining en masse about startup equity stinginess.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21866560

[VirusNewbie]

G underpays compared to other FAANG and unicorns but does pay way more than microsoft and just about every other large and small company.

[Der_Einzige]

G, combined with its benefits, does NOT underpay compared to Amazon.

Amazon's vesting schedule is so toxic that 90% or more google engineers have higher total comp, better benefits, and better WLB than Amazon.

[scarface74]

Equity means statistically very little in a startup. The chance of any startup succeeding where “success” means that the investors don’t lose money is 1 out of 10. The chance of a qualified person who takes a below market compensation in exchange for “equity” not being better off by working for one of the public tech companies is even slimmer.