[Amfy]

Thank you so, so much for pointing this out. I am so tired of basically everybody believing they are under-paid by making $120k+ It puts out the wrong expectations. Most people under-estimate, what kind of life they can live with $60-80k anyways.

[ryandrake]

It’s a very common HN trope: go to any thread where tech salaries are mentioned and you’ll find someone whose sister’s boyfriend’s roommate makes $400k at Facebook, so therefore that’s a normal, expected salary for all tech workers. Point out actual publicly available data like Glassdoor or Salary.com and you’ll get a whole bunch of nit picks about their methodology or the fact that they report base salary only, etc.

Yes, there are likely outlier employees at outlier companies making huge comp but those have to be at least 2 to 3 standard deviations right of the average.

[askafriend]

> Point out actual publicly available data like Glassdoor or Salary.com and you’ll get a whole bunch of nit picks about their methodology or the fact that they report base salary only, etc.

So you don't have a counter argument is what you're saying? The truth is those site are insanely flawed and if that's what you're using to form your basis for negotiation then you're at a disadvantage period.

Compensation is often base + bonus + equity. For sufficiently senior positions, the equity component can be almost as much as the base salary. If the equity is liquid, then why is that not relevant?

FYI new grads at any of the big tech companies are bringing in close to ~$200k in total compensation their first year. It's not just someone's sister's cousin. It's a majority of engineering new grads who work at any of the BigCos which employ A LOT of people and are constantly hiring.

[sidlls]

Those salaries are prevalent pretty much only at "big" tech companies (FAANG) in the Bay Area.

Even in the Bay Area the 50th percentile base salary for a relatively junior hire is closer to $100k than $150k. Add in bonus and equity and some might top out around $140k-$150k total compensation. That's in the Bay Area specifically. Most other places TC is going to top out just above $100k--high salaries are uncommon outside of tech hubs and the Bay Area itself is on the high end even in that group.

[ryandrake]

Unfortunately, due to a lack of public data, these discussions always devolve into anecdote battles. I would love to see actual data that shows these huge salaries as average. It would really help my next salary negotiation! I’ve been in tech for over 20 years and so far, “Hacker News says we should make $400K” hasn’t really worked with recruiters yet.

[pedrosorio]

Some people underestimate the options and freedom (including being ready for the effects of recession/ageism in the industry) that living on $60k with a $200k salary can provide.

[jdavis703]

How do you pay for $200k level taxes on a $60k salary? I make low six figures and pay an effective tax rate of about 35%. You’d only have about $5k left over for living expenses for the year...

[pedrosorio]

Assuming this was a legitimate misunderstanding:

- they earn a $200k salary

- their living expenses match those of a person living with a $60k salary and presumably spending everything they earn after tax (in response to “what kind of life they can live with $60-80k”)

Does that make sense?

[jdavis703]

Yeah, I had kind of assumed they were advocating putting $140k in the bank and living off the $60k.

[askafriend]

I'm not going to lower my expectations for myself or for people in my field who have valuable skills just for you to feel better about yourself.

[sidlls]

What are the "wrong expectations" put out?