[bearmf]

> It's really not hard to make $300k/yr

Disagree. If you have an easy recipe feel free to share :). You have to be a front office VP to be guaranteed this kind of money. Aleynikov made 400k as a senior VP working on HFT infrastructure at Goldman.

[kabdib]

You can do that at a place like Microsoft:

1) Get hired in at a 62 or 63

2) Steady promotions (you are good technically, work well with people, and pick good projects, and -- hardest of all -- your management chain doesn't suck) for a few years, until you hit L65 (Principal level)

3) Stock awards over the next 5 years take care of the rest

[yekko]

Microsoft? Sure you can make that, but you have to get to a good group, or you have to have psychopathic personality. Have fun competing with your peers for "visibility"

[wglb]

Er, what is a 62 or 63. Pay grade?

[yekko]

They are called levels, that's the senior band pretty much.

[rbsn]

Is there stack ranking even at level 62? :)

[kabdib]

Oh yes. They lump levels together in "bands" and you're basically competing with your peers for slots. The ranking has forced buckets, so someone always gets screwed. It's about as fucked up as you're thinking right now.

Seriously, there are groups who actually hire people to fall into the seven percent "knucklehead" bucket, so that none of the (presumably) good employees need to be fired.

I don't miss that stuff at all.

[bearmf]

Sounds hard :)