[trotsky]

If there is only one thing I wished someone had told me when I started out it would be not to include grants as part of your compensation calculations. It is rare that they'll ever be worth a dime and even rarer that getting a little less/more will make any real difference. I'm assuming we're not talking about public companies here or ones obviously on an ipo track (very short list).

They are like getting a portion of your money in lottery tickets - sure there is a minimal real value to them, but the only rational way to use them in planning is to value them at zero.

Rank and file grants are only about retention. If you are bitching and moaning about a cliff and your finances you really misunderstand how business works here.

But that's very understandable - silicon valley thrives on misleading the young and energetic on this very topic.