I’ll buy that 400-500k a year is average for Facebook, Apple, Google, etc.
It’s absolutely NOT average for companies who aren’t the massive giants that those are. I’ve been in actual tech startups, not Uber for Clowns, and the best salary I’ve seen was an (admittedly very good) $170k for a senior dev position. That’s close to average when I talk to my friends and associates in tech in the valley and beyond.
The range posted is usually just the base pay. For most public companies the total compensation would be ~60-80% more because of the stock. For senior positions, this would sometimes be 2x.
The etc in your first sentence is doing a bit of heavy lifting here. There are so many companies in that category now that if you have any specialized software skill (compilers, ML, database engines, OS, systems in general) you can absolutely make that much if you wanted to. If you don't believe me, and have such skills, spend 20-30 days interviewing!
Sure if you are a typical full stack developer you are not going to make that much money unless you get into Google or something.
Also, base salaries are typically not that high, but the total compensation with equity can reach that pretty easily.
Facebook, Apple and Google are very big companies which hire a lot of very well paid engineers. We're not talking about being an NFL quarterback or something where only a small handful of people will reach that level. Being a big tech engineer is probably the easiest and most achievable path to $500k/year on the planet.
I would have put it differently, but your use of “average” made me wonder what you were thinking as well. I’m still not quite sure. You’re not a hypothetical person whose salary and job prospects are unknown to… you. If you’ve received job offers locally and overseas that would be interesting, but what you’re talking about sounds like speculation.
>If you’ve received job offers locally and overseas that would be interesting, but what you’re talking about sounds like speculation.
Yes, I had considered moving to Europe after completing my Phd. The offers were about 1/3rd of US, with a significantly lower potential for growing beyond a few tens of percentages over 5-10 years.
Ok so you’re in a hot sub-field. Your experience is not typical even at the companies you’ve named. And it’s definitely not typical “after a few years”, unless it’s a new PhD in hot field * top tier company * multiple good reviews. And you’re probably extrapolating the anomalously good stock performance that frankly you have no control over.
Your average Leetcode drone that makes it into those companies is making $300k after 5 years.
Compilers. Not hot, but a bit niche so it sometimes pays well. Not any more than ML or distributed systems specialists.
>Your experience is not typical even at the companies you’ve named
You can check levels.fyi for averages, don't have to rely on my word.
>Your average Leetcode drone that makes it into those companies is making $300k after 5 years.
You are right. So, now the question is: given you are not an 'average leetcode drone' do you work in the US or Europe. I hope this clarifies why competent European computer scientists and engineers move to the US in large numbers.
If you work in tech for a few years that's kind of average. We are having a new PhD grad join next month with a 400k TC offer.
If you have trouble believing me, check out levels.fyi for (Facebook:E5, Google:L5-6, Nvidia:IC5, Apple ICT5).