The best thing I did for my career was leave Boston for an entry level FANG job on the West Coast 10 years ago. I currently make more than 10x what I was making in Boston. But it has been a grind no doubt. And probably some luck.
Sorry, 10x seems like a crazy difference when talking about salary. Could you be more specific? I’m trying to figure out numbers that make sense. Like you were getting $30,000 a year in 2011 and now getting $300,000+ in 2021? In the same field? Either the Boston salary was crazy low or fang salary is crazy high.
It's not actually that crazy, and less so if you look at total comp.
I made $55k 10 years ago, and just took a pay cut from $225k to $160k in a much lower cost of living area. I've had jobs with consistent $25-50k yearly cash bonuses, where some folks got as much as $250k of bonus in a year. And then options and RSUs are just the icing on the cake. Big lumbering public company? Starts at 100k a year worth of RSUs. Early stage at a unicorn? Easily $1M a year.
I've mostly worked at pre-IPO startups you've heard of -- forget FAANG.
East coast salaries a decade ago outside of New York were abysmal compared to their west coast counterparts, and still are for the most part, but due to the rapid growth of remote work, things are improving greatly.
Mostly the same. I left Austin for SFO and FAANG 10 years ago. I made so much more, that when my previous company sold and some of my friends got 1m+ in stock, i had made more simply in salary moving.
I did the opposite of you and question if I made a mistake. I’m not sad about it. Just thinking through the “what ifs” after being gone so long. It’s natural. But if you’re happy today, why change?
These articles always undershoot the top end comp. I’m staff+ with ~15 years exp at a FANG like big tech company. I currently make low seven figures. I don’t think I’m unique among my peer group. When you add in refreshers and stock appreciation it gets even higher. Currently remote.
It's because they are estimating new offers given out today. It's understood that people with a few years' tenure could be making a lot more due to stock appreciation, but if you are in the job market today that data point is useless and only messes up the expectations.
Are you certain? I imagine if you get an offer, and they really want somebody at your level, they'd have to beat or at least match the TC unless it is Fuchsia or some other hot rod project.
