[eddsh1994]

People who work for good companies in lower cost of living environments? I live in Palo Alto and appreciate I’ll never buy here but my colleagues on similar salaries have huge houses with boats and nice cars in other parts of the US. This is the $150/200 mark btw, not FAANG.

[highwaylights]

> This is the $150/200 mark btw, not FAANG.

This is still wild to me.

I’m well into my career (coming close to 25 years):

— I do well when looking for work in that I interview well and get most gigs I go for.

- I trade stability for higher rates working shorter gigs without any of the usual safety net / benefits.

- Comp is top end of the range offered in a relatively well off part of the world.

And yet with all that said, $200k is still an utter pipe dream.

I’m not saying I’m necessarily jealous (I’m sure there’s the downsides I don’t see) but man-oh-man that’s a lot of money.

I’m almost reluctant to ask but what is FAANG comp typically?

[sitkack]

Startups are paying above FAANG for many senior positions. Total comp can be 250-850K, lots in the 400-550k range.

The going contract dev rate is 150/hr (Java/Python).

[bradlys]

> Startups are paying above FAANG for many senior positions.

Citation needed.

[throwawaaarrgh]

After the tax bracket bump its not entirely as amazing as it sounds... there are still a few places in SV and NY that hand out remote salaries on the high end, if you keep looking.

There are also roles where you just get paid way more than other roles without a need for particularly difficult expertise. People who manage very 'important' stuff for example.

[eddsh1994]

Which country are you based in? I can offer advice for Europe and the US :)

[highwaylights]

Europe currently, interested in remote for anywhere.

Would be really curious to hear what’s out there.

[eddsh1994]

Check out contract roles that are EU-friendly in London & angel.co for remote jobs in the bay area that are happy with global hires. I had a contract with a company in SF while living in Oxford for ~160k and know London pays 700+ per day for mid-senior developers. There are contract-specific jobsites out there but I can't google them right now because I'm on a company VPN.

[highwaylights]

Thanks for this!

Could I reach out to you separately so as not to run out of thread depth on here?

(The big question I have on this is if you have a link discussing implications for tax etc. on taking a role from the USA while based in the UK - which is an easier option for me at this time).

[thatfunkymunki]

https://levels.fyi

[tomduncalf]

The thing to note is that the base salary isn’t often too far off from non-FAANG jobs, but the stock grant which usually “vests” over 4 years is what makes the compensation so much higher.

The amount of stock is locked in based on how many shares the dollar amount you’re offered would buy when you start, so if the share price goes up over time then that’s going to be worth more when it vests (which I guess mostly happened in the last decade), but if it drops from when you started it’s worth less (as happened in the last year, so if you started this time last year and the company stock is down 50%, that compensation is worth a lot less now).

I definitely think it’s good to be aware of what compensation at these places looks like, I wasn’t really aware of how significant the stock thing is until recently (but I had a fun career up to now so not to worry!). I guess one of the downsides is that these are often huge companies there’s a reasonable chance you’ll end up maintaining some boring internal system or whatever, so it depends what motivates you.

[highwaylights]

Honestly, as I'm non-US, I think I'm ruled out of those compensation packages (I don't think many offer remote work).

It's disappointing, but it's the reality for a lot of people I'm sure.

[tomduncalf]

Not sure where you’re based but some of the mid-sized companies definitely do hire outside of the US and offer equity (typically places where they have a company presence so they can employ you, and I guess they’ll probably try to have people in sensible time zones) and are remote-first. For example, I’m based in London and my last job was with MongoDB and that was fully remote in EMEA.

[eddsh1994]

Check out angel.co and look for remote startup roles - I've worked with two US startups from the UK prior to moving out here. Some are happy with extra experience & lower end of salary while you'll still have a good multiple.

The alternative to that is contracting - London is a great place to look for that.

[badpun]

How is the traffic and commute time in such cities? I ask as an European who can't fanthom an idea of a large city where most people live in detached houses (and not in apartments or even townhouses) - the city must take up enormous space. Do people commute 30 miles each way to work?

[bluedino]

According to ACS 2010-14 data, the average commuter in the Chicago metropolitan region has a one-way commute of 30 minutes. This figure is slightly above the national average of 26 minutes, but on par with many other large U.S. regions

FWIW a random survey on the internet lists Austin TX, Miami FL, and San Diego CA as the 'most stressful commutes'

[bagels]

Which cities? Silicon Valley? Or people remote working in the Midwest?

If you are making Faang money you can choose a shorter commute. 30 miles is 1-2 hours in silicon valley. My limit is 10 miles/40 mins

[badpun]

American cities in general. If in an average US city, most people live in a detached house, aren't they just a endless sprawl with nightmarish commute times?

[BirAdam]

Yes. American cities are endless sprawl. Yes. American cities have nightmarish commute times. During morning and evening rush, it can take 3 hours to cross the city I live in. The city I grew up in was better, but the same task could still take 30 minutes there, and it was a much smaller city.

[gnz11]

Yes

[tnel77]

“But I can’t live in the midwest” -Them, probably

[eddsh1994]

People can't complain about high salaries not working for you in high COL places. In Atherton a 0.8 acre lot (no house) is on the market for $5.2m lol. If you stop looking for the prestige and high numbers of FAANG you can have a far better salary:COL and get that nice house/cool car.