Disclaimer: I currently work for Amazon but I would argue that their vesting schedule is their strongest selling point, especially in the current market. If you got into Amazon relatively recently, you're in a strong position for your take home pay.
The backloaded stock gives you stability up front with their high signing bonus, and high growth potential for TC assuming stock growth in two years. My pay is basically equalized over 4 years at current stock prices when I began, so my expected 4 year outlook without raises/performance bonuses/stock appreciation is:
Rough numbers, you get it. Not everyone has the same deal, but from what I've seen @ Amazon this is pretty standard and honestly significantly better than having to deal with the volatility of a 1 year initial vesting cliff like most public companies.
It depends how old you are, how senior you are, and how likely you are to switch companies in a shitty situation. It works for a specific (perhaps more stable) archetype of engineering hire for sure!
At my last company, the stock price when I joined was at $150/share, it rose to over $200/share and crashed to under $30/share by the time my initial vesting date came. I lost six figures of expected TC based on my original offer (over half my total compensation). Since it was a 1 year cliff, I couldn't do anything to diversify or limit my risk because my RSUs were not mine until they vested.
Lesson learned, but I don't think there's an archetype of engineer that prefers that kind of risk profile over large cash payments each month. My downside for Y1 at Amazon is 4% of the agreed upon TC.
Oh, I COMPLETELY misread due to my biases. My fault. You are completely right.
Perhaps I'm not as good as a negotiator as I thought (or the schedules are within the past two years) b/c I haven't ever received an offer that balances the agreed upon TC as you describe. It sounds great!
I agree, I think it's mostly framed as something Amazon does to screw over employees by dangling stock they might not ever get a few years out. I'm not even arguing about the other points for the parent of my original comment, but the vesting schedule at Amazon is severely underrated in my opinion.
Amazon compensates your first year (the low % vesting year) with an entirely equivalent amount in full cash. Which is arguably better -- so I don't get your point.
Anyone who was hired over the past two years would have been more than happy to receive a large stable cash prorated signing bonus over the past two years than stock.
The backloaded stock gives you stability up front with their high signing bonus, and high growth potential for TC assuming stock growth in two years. My pay is basically equalized over 4 years at current stock prices when I began, so my expected 4 year outlook without raises/performance bonuses/stock appreciation is:
Y1: ~70% Base, ~26% Bonus, ~4% Stock (5% total initial grant)
Y2: ~70% Base, ~18% Bonus, ~12% Stock (15% total initial grant)
Y3: ~70% Base, ~0% Bonus, ~30% Stock (40% total initial grant)
Y4: ~70% Base, ~0% Bonus, ~30% Stock (40% total initial grant)
Rough numbers, you get it. Not everyone has the same deal, but from what I've seen @ Amazon this is pretty standard and honestly significantly better than having to deal with the volatility of a 1 year initial vesting cliff like most public companies.