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by js2 3738 days ago
I don't think so. I think I've contributed value that justifies my salary. But I've also had managers willing to fight for me during layoffs. And I've been fortunate, I suppose, to work for generally decent employers, and never really had a bad manager.

Full disclosure: at my first job, I went from 50K to mid-100's in less than 4 years. My current total compensation is in the high 2xx as an individual contributor. I would be surprised if that were under-market.
2 comments
TheOtherHobbes 3738 days ago
>I've been fortunate, I suppose, to work for generally decent employers

Perhaps you've worked for employers when they could afford to be decent - which is not quite the same thing.

Being fired for being too expensive is a very real thing. Ask anyone laid off by IBM recently, or who was put on a PIP and fired for non-performance a few months before qualifying for retirement and a company pension payout.

Tangentially, talk of non-productive employees always reminds me of this:

http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/DEC/dec.be...

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ElysianEagle 3738 days ago
High 200s as an individual contributor? That's north of what directors at iBanks make in many cases here in NYC (and salaries here are already higher than most other places for tech workers).

My guess is that you're working contract at a very lucrative rate? Or perhaps you're at some kind of financial firm that offers a hefty bonus :-D

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hirsin 3738 days ago
Not at all - see senior dev engineer salaries at Google [1]. High 2xx seems reasonable. I may have missed GP's comment about being in finance, otherwise I don't see the relation to finance salaries.

1. https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Google-Senior-Software-Engi...

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phamilton 3738 days ago
On Blind (yet another anonymous app for employees at BigCos) there have been dozens of people reporting 300k+ salaries at Google/Facebook/etc. Most recently was a Senior Software Engineer at Netflix with a $420k base (Netflix doesn't really do stock as a significant part of comp).

I'd love for this to be common knowledge.

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gozur88 3738 days ago
I find that memo very odd. It's been my experience people involved in a 21 member "sewing circle" aren't there by choice - they've been directed to attend the meeting by their boss. Where I work sometimes people go to these kinds of BS meetings and then stay late to do their actual work.
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