[bradford]

It's not a typo. The author alludes to these inflated salaries several times.

Examples:

"while other people who just picked a better company to work at 20 years ago and never left have been growing their wealth by a couple million dollars per year every year for almost their entire career"

"What is it like to join a company where all the co-workers your same age have made $10+ million over the past 4 years while you are joining with nothing?"

You'd have to be very high in the org chart at a FAANG style company to make that kind of income.

[benterix]

That's the main point that make the article harder to read. Some of it is obvious hyperbole but some is just too much.

[stogot]

The hyperbole drummed up as realistic (not sarcastic) made me give up. If it was sarcasm, I might have enjoyed it, but the author clearly heard some false anecdotes and thinks we’re all millionaires while they aren’t

[madamelic]

I can't tell if the author is being funny / hyperbolic or has never looked at levels.fyi.

Google pays basically the same salary as a series A startup would (ie: $150 - $180k / yr). Yes, you'll get your salary again in stock but you aren't necessarily getting left behind by choosing to punch lottery tickets because you enjoy it.

People need to, and I need to say this to myself too, smell the roses occasionally. You are paid an absurdly comfortable salary to basically solve puzzles all day. The meetings and people can suck occasionally but I can't imagine a much better life if I have to work for a living.

[rescripting]

The only thing I can think of is the author is calculating these numbers as if employees never sell the stock they are granted until retirement.

If you work for 10-15 years at a tech giant, bank your $150k in RSUs per year and then sell them all at retirement then maybe the numbers add up, if you're extraordinarily lucky.

[janalsncm]

$150k seems high but in reality it’s barely keeping up with the cost of life expenses.

In 1950 a house cost $7300. Average salary was $3000. So you could make 41% of a house in a year. You would be taxed at 17%.

In 2024 the median house price is $420k. So someone making $150k only makes 36% of a house in a year. You will be taxed at 19%.

[morgante]

He's looked at levels.fyi.

He even links to it from his resume.

His problem is that he thinks L10 is the benchmark to compare against, when the vast, vast majority of engineers (including many with decades of experience) would never make it to L10.

[forrestthewoods]

> Google pays basically the same salary as a series A startup would (ie: $150 - $180k / yr)

Entry level. But with ~5 years experience and two promos you’ll be pushing $400k.

If you joined Google 5 years ago then you had at least one annual stock grant double in value.

If you work at FANG for 10 years you should be able to hit retirement money. If nothing else you’ll have invested 600k into your 401k which should be enough for CoastFire. IE it’s all the money you’ll need at retirement age.

[alfalfasprout]

As always, level matters. $180k/yr is quite low for Google and frankly and near or post IPO company at least at a non-junior level.

> You are paid an absurdly comfortable salary to basically solve puzzles all day No, you are paid commensurate to the value you can deliver. This "be grateful" attitude is becoming more prevalent in tech and is leading to companies getting away with lower pay and worse working conditions.

Companies are waking far more $$ from you than they pay you. Especially profitable tech companies.