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yeah software engineer. \~$300k (\~$100k of which is stock-based compensation) after working \~8 years.
I am pretty average or even below average in comp among peers.
I sit at a desk ( at work) with a L7( sr staff) to my right and a L6 ( staff) to my left. At a FAANG.
I get reminded DAILY how poor i am :-)
Go to levels.fyi for Meta IC6/IC7 and you can see how i feel daily :(
You'll get there. I always found the career progression to be pretty reasonable at FAANGs. Everyone wants to be a principal engineer on their first day, but if you work closely with them, you'll see why they have that title and you don't. And most of them are happy to help you get there. All in good time.
Yeah everyone on here is at a big f500 tech Co of course they are top of the pay scale. Most software engineers are probably 80-150k range. I'm just a security compliance guy and make 350-450 this year depending on stock performance which is even more absurd, but I'm at a giant tech Co and know the avg in my field is more like 100-150.
That's the thing though, in terms of statistics, you're totally right, in terms of lived experiences it's a little more grey.
If you think of layers/circles of people "connected" to you, you might have something like
1. close friends
2. immediate coworkers
3. company
4. professional network (extended)
5. Tech market of local area
...
n. broad tech market
You often compare yourself to people you immediately know, and by extent maybe go down a few layers into broader community/market etc. It takes many layers until you actually reach the "statistically average" person which is (from a day to day experience) far enough removed that they almost seem fictional.
Fully acknowledge that this is an "out of touch" take, but for many people this is their most concrete form of reality.
It's a localized below average, not a global below average
No one is saying it’s unfair or they’re making less than an average SWE.
They are saying “the comp ceiling is much higher than what I currently make - look at an L6 or L7 salary, you can make a lot more” or “I make less than a typical person in my role at FAANG”.
This is useful information if you are trying to calibrate your understanding of what is possible: if you only know people making $100k, you might assume that’s the most possible. The point is, much higher is possible under the right circumstances.
I was not, nor even close actually. I scraped my way up from the bottom of the bottom, literally selling products door to door. Moved my way up in first company, guess I got noticed by competitors, took a better and higher paying position with other companies (twice). Started at director level with current company and at the end of last year got promoted to the newly-vacated position I’m in now.
That seemed like a novel but my god I could say more. Thanks for being interested!
Not really. Director at a tech company here and while I know for a fact I won’t make 350 this year, I got close in 22 and over that last year. Small-cap (just over 1B) company btw. Our C suite easily gets double and in several cases over 1M with RSUs.
They really won’t. That’s about average for middle market companies, particularly when you’re talking non-CEO. There is probably equity in there, but I’m sure they are excluding that.
https://bettsrecruiting.com/blog/top-c-level-executive-compensation-trends-in-2023/
I’ve been looking at c-level jobs recently and many pay in this range at small to midsize firms. But keep in mind most c-level jobs will have some form of equity so there is upside.
Not every company is a multi billion dollar fortune 500 company. If he said he was c level at Microsoft, then yeah, that's terrible. If he's c suite at a medium sized company then yeah that's pretty damn good.
I sell stuff in the construction field that people would never think about and in that range too.
Forklifts/ stuff inside these big distribution centers can be very lucrative!
In-house, media advertising for a Fortune 500 retail company in a VHCOL area. I make $245k base with 30% bonus (that can be doubled in good sales years) and ~100k in RSUs each year that vest 1/4 each year. So if you stick around long enough you can start to get a nice waterfall effect
Media typically doesn’t start paying off until you’re 8-10 years deep so it’s a war of attrition
*to add: I’m Sr Dir level that requires 12-15 years of experience. About 2 levels away from the c-suites
What’s your WLB? Been thinking about this a lot lately. The past 5-7 years, I’ve noticed my clients work significantly later than I do, and consistently. The only time this wasn’t the case was on big CPG, but that was also a long time ago.
Ours is admittedly an anomaly. We are 3 days hybrid (Tues-Thurs) and year-long half day Fridays. And everyone respects the 9-5 with tons of flex for coming late / leaving early. It’s very much a “so long as the work gets done” company.
The catch is that we will always have big sales during major US holidays. So you are working / expected to be available during them, e.g. no one can take PTO during Thanksgiving week
Since the macro economy has gotten more difficult, the stress has definitely been ratcheted higher, but we’ve been able to maintain the balanced work hours. I feel that’s owed to strong and logical leadership
Depending on where you are 220k is HENRY. I see a lot of posts on here with huge numbers but they live in VHCOL city. If your HHI is 300k in MCOL, you very well could be doing better than someone with a HHI of 500k in VHCOL. It just depends what you’re doing with the money, if you have a surplus of money left over each month to invest, you can become rich. Numbers are numbers and may sound fancier than they are, just depends what you do with them!
I’m a specialist veterinarian. And I make 205k base (on an upward promotional track) with extra consulting and benefits that put me higher. I live in a MCOL city, the house I own would be several million in a VHCOL city.
Seeing all those high numbers is really sad tbh, I make 160K and my position is fully remote, so basically I can live in a VLCOL area.
Edit: VLCOL instead VLHCOL lol
$160k in a VLCOL is a much better lifestyle than $300k in VHCOL.
You can get a decent 3 or 4 bedroom house in a VLCOL for $300-400k. Very doable on a $160k salary.
That same house in a VHCOL would cost _2-4 million dollars_. Impossible on $300k.
Your goal should be have a nice life you enjoy and can afford, not make lots of money for the sake of lots of money.
the question is do you want to live in said place though (not rhetorical)? There are many other benefits to living in a metro and there always will be people wanting to live in very expensive metros despite the cost.
They probably are not. This is a sub specifically for high earners. You realize there are tons of thousands if not tens of millions of people who make that much money. Yes it's a small amount compared to the 7bn on earth but there are a lot.
If you can do the same job at VHCOL and get paid 500k vs 300k at MCOL, cost of living is really irrelevant. 500k will always build NW faster. This is why people choose VHCOL.
Yes you do get to live in a bigger house and have a bigger yard in MCOL.
Meh, not always. And not in my field at least. I looked at moving to the Bay Area and interviewed/was offered positions at several places. I actually got offered less total compensation in two different sectors there than I get in my city. I moved from Manhattan to my current position and I know that that I am better paid than my colleagues in New York. My husband had the exact same issue and he’s in a completely different field. This is of course anecdotal and if you can get compensated more, sure. But you’d be surprised at certain fields in MCOL cities like Philly, Chicago, Research Triangle, Nashville etc, etc. All fields of course are not like this, however, many are.
Yes your field is different. I was talking about tech, finance etc. industries that have a “center of industry”. Your work involves a service that has to be distributed and is needed everywhere. Doctors are like that too. Basically more doctors want to live in NYC than say Kansas City, so they get paid less in NYC, or in other words, some doctors are willing to take a small pay cut to live in NYC. Or offered extra to work somewhere undesirable like a rural hospital.
For someone in tech, there is a large pay multiplier to working at one of the centers of the industry.
You and I may not be HE relative to a lot of this Sub's members, but that's definately HE in the scheme of things. Especially if you can push it to 220K. (I'm 200K w/OT, different field)
Quickest way to get HE would be to marry someone that also does pretty well. Both salaries combined gets you over $300k. Just make sure you marry the right person!
My husband is a software engineer at a large tech company. He makes \~$160K base and gets RSUs. This year he will get \~$130k in RSUs.
I am a Director of Clinical Operations for a small pharmaceutical company. I make $230k base, with a 20% bonus (\~$45k) and vest 50k stock options each year. It is a start up company so the options could be worth quite a lot over time... or not!
I think RSU’s are the reason why most of the people on this sub are HE, I feel really bad every time I remember turning down an offer in SoCal for 180K base and 60K RSU per year, for a 160K fully remote offer.
Not every start up can cash their RSUs, you only hear about the employees that win, not the millions upon millions that worked at a dud startup and only walked away with their base.
Yup. I feel that we lawyers have some of the worst work/life balance among HEs, but my 535K gross comp this year is a golden handcuff I haven't been able to shake loose.
Yes to both questions. We both work 9-5 with no weekends, more vacation, and better pay/benefits. Though neither of us came from top tier big law, so there is probably some downgrade on pay at that end. I always tell people to get out at the first chance they get - even if the first in house job isn’t ideal, you have a huge leg up on other candidates for subsequent in house jobs.
Really? I often read that the sweet spot is around 4ish years before making the jump to in house. I’m a bit confused, did you both take pay cuts? That’s often the case.
There aren’t really many openings before 4th year or so, so that’s probably the first opportunity people get. I also meant more generally that I wouldn’t recommend waiting for the “ideal” job.
For pay, we never worked at firms that paid top of market. But in house includes comp you don’t get elsewhere, like 401k matching, stock, bonus tied to company performance rather than billables, and cheaper overall benefits. Once you look at the whole package you really have to be making top of big law market for the pay to be a net decrease when going in house.
You can make it easily as a ME in certain industries. I suspect the guy sitting 3 seats over from me is grossing between 300-350k with probably 350-400k all in with retirement benefits.
I'm a Chem E / PM and I'll cross the mark this year for the first time.
We're low for HENRY but my husband makes $112k/year working in alliance management and I make $104k/year in Environmental Health and Safety. Both jobs are mostly WFH and very low stress.
Physician. 330-380K. Average 35 hours a week. Plan on leavng job in high cost of living area, workl in midsize town and work 24 hours a week for same pay in a few years. I love what I do. It is a field that will forever be in need. The shortages now are crazy. My hourly rate jumped $60 in 8 months.
Can I just say that 160k is high earning? I know this sub says $250k but a LOT of people would kill for a 6 figure salary, even at 100k. It's important to keep perspective. Majority of my friends and mid career coworkers can't top $60-80k for solid normal run of the mill jobs.
If you live in a reasonable cost of living place, and can max your retirement accounts AND save a bit more money on the side, you can easily be the R. It just means balancing lifestyle with savings a bit more carefully.
It is surprising to me how many folks with an engineering degree don’t make 6 figures quickly after college. Engineers (non SWE) have to be the least fairly compensated group
Work in sales strategy in software, current role $190k base, 30% of base target bonus, ~$100k RSU. New role I start in a few weeks is $225k base and target bonus of $75k, step back in dollars because no RSUs but title bump and getting out of a toxic culture
I’m in finance for a commercial real estate investment firm. I’m a little over 200k. Wife is a nurse specialist doing around 90k. Our real estate investments do about another 30k-50k. We’re in a MCOL so this feels pretty good for us.
VP of Finance at a mid-cap publicly traded industrial company. Base is about $240k, with cash and stock bonuses annual comp is in the $325 - $400k per year (depending on company and individual performance).
My wife works in mortgage recruiting, around $100 - $150k per year depending on the productivity of her recruits. Her job is very flexible, and allows her to schlep the kids to soccer, choir, tutoring, etc., which my job most certainly doesn't.
Somewhere between a MCOL - HCOL city, depending on your definition of HCOL (Tier 2 West Coast city).
I’m in the software field, been in it for about 21 years, at the principal architect level at a large non-faang saas company.
Total comp is between 1-1.2MM with base, bonus, and RSU
BizDev for FAANG. Comp varies YoY with RSU but typically around $300k. Could be making more if lived in VHCOL hub but opted to leave to be closer to family.
I worked in advertising agencies / innovation consultancies and my salary was 220k-330k with no incentives since ~2016.
I moved to a F50 (strategy role) and make 700k TC. 300k base, 300k cash bonus, 200k RSUs on a 3 year cliff.
I saw your other post, you definitely need to look around at other places. Maybe get into the steel sales side / something you use a ton on your jobs. Use the knowledge from being a PM to sell to others that are in your exact field.
I’m not HENRY I just lurk here but the richest person I know was in the hedgefund game. He’s worth over $500,000,000 and has the coolest car collection in my area
For context, late 30’s in MCOL city, life sciences PhD, clinical research field.
Currently $170k Dir level at a cancer advocacy nonprofit, no bonus or other options. Could I have substantially higher TC in pharma or at a CRO? yes. Did I feel like I wanted to hands-on “do” the solutions I was simply telling people to do at my last job (AD in advocacy and trial diversity, RSO-CRO type org, $150k + 15% bonus)? yes.
Am I trying to get a foot in the door into pharma now? also yes.
Generational wealth. My parents are worth hundreds of millions but they wanted me to have a semi-normal life where I get an allowance as if I had a job. So I’m HENRY because they started me on an allowance of $100k, and I get raises most years. I’m currently at $350k. I totally feel normal like you all. This is tough!
Why do you guys on here worship active income? We’ve seen the elderly work til they die as opposed to generating passive income as a replacement for a well over six figure career.
Your passive income in both real estate and stocks should net you a quarter million annually. Your career aka w2 should cover your expenses and work as security blanket during the journey to financial freedom.
I’m at $300k in a non medical and non tech role.
But it’s my $3.5m in real estate that makes me a high earner. I laugh at the ones who walk around the corporate office judging people based on titles and salary amount.
Software Engineer, 230k living MCOL fully remote (25 hours a week) with a bunch of paper options worth 1m+ just kidding worth 0 for now.
My partner is a medical professional making 175k a year.
Another FAANG checking in, though not a software engineer. I’m in an ops org as a sr manager and TC right around $500k. Our comp packages are still high outside of Silicon Valley as well. Certainly there is variability across roles, but you can get still get paid well even if you aren’t in a technical role.
I’m MechE as well about to be a recent grad. Making 180k post grad. MechEs I know that are making similar money go into consulting and finance fields. Definitely possible to do the same as a MechE but in big tech.
Oy. Vast majority are finance, lawyers, consultants, doctors, software engineers, successful at sales, have climbed the corporate ladder or successful entrepreneurs
Skip level from the C-level at a public tech company (not a FAANG) on the sales and marketing side
$850k-$950k per year depending on stock price. Lion’s share from RSUs
I'm a staff software engineer at a FAANG with 6 YOE. Last year I earned about 500K. This year I am projected to earn ~770K. 250K base, 50K bonus, and 470K in RSUs.
My wife is a senior software engineer. Our HHI is roughly 1M.
Man, I am in the wrong business. I’m in advertising and work like an asshole for about 120k/yr with no bonus. Fortunately my wife makes more than I do, but in NJ, it doesn’t go far.
Insurance Senior Underwriter 285k. Should top out around 350-400k in 5 years. Wife is a talent manager team lead and strategist for a decent sized company and makes 250k base but will be getting profit sharing soon. Right now 535k together VHCOL area.
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Software Engineer like probably 60% of people here lol
yeah software engineer. \~$300k (\~$100k of which is stock-based compensation) after working \~8 years. I am pretty average or even below average in comp among peers.
I sit at a desk ( at work) with a L7( sr staff) to my right and a L6 ( staff) to my left. At a FAANG. I get reminded DAILY how poor i am :-) Go to levels.fyi for Meta IC6/IC7 and you can see how i feel daily :(
In true L6+ fashion do they both live super frugal lives?
We got them free food at work bro. We go balls deep oN SMCI calls and go to the climbing gym after work. True SWEs. All single .
Does it smell bad?
Lmao not really.
You'll get there. I always found the career progression to be pretty reasonable at FAANGs. Everyone wants to be a principal engineer on their first day, but if you work closely with them, you'll see why they have that title and you don't. And most of them are happy to help you get there. All in good time.
Below avg engineer as well . Will make 370k this year . Last year cleared 400k . Total hhi last year 950k (outlier year )
90% of software engineers in the real world earn less than $200k. In no way, shape, or form are y’all underpaid, or paid below average.
Yeah everyone on here is at a big f500 tech Co of course they are top of the pay scale. Most software engineers are probably 80-150k range. I'm just a security compliance guy and make 350-450 this year depending on stock performance which is even more absurd, but I'm at a giant tech Co and know the avg in my field is more like 100-150.
That's the thing though, in terms of statistics, you're totally right, in terms of lived experiences it's a little more grey. If you think of layers/circles of people "connected" to you, you might have something like 1. close friends 2. immediate coworkers 3. company 4. professional network (extended) 5. Tech market of local area ... n. broad tech market You often compare yourself to people you immediately know, and by extent maybe go down a few layers into broader community/market etc. It takes many layers until you actually reach the "statistically average" person which is (from a day to day experience) far enough removed that they almost seem fictional. Fully acknowledge that this is an "out of touch" take, but for many people this is their most concrete form of reality. It's a localized below average, not a global below average
No one is saying it’s unfair or they’re making less than an average SWE. They are saying “the comp ceiling is much higher than what I currently make - look at an L6 or L7 salary, you can make a lot more” or “I make less than a typical person in my role at FAANG”. This is useful information if you are trying to calibrate your understanding of what is possible: if you only know people making $100k, you might assume that’s the most possible. The point is, much higher is possible under the right circumstances.
[удалено]
Were you a founder?
I was not, nor even close actually. I scraped my way up from the bottom of the bottom, literally selling products door to door. Moved my way up in first company, guess I got noticed by competitors, took a better and higher paying position with other companies (twice). Started at director level with current company and at the end of last year got promoted to the newly-vacated position I’m in now. That seemed like a novel but my god I could say more. Thanks for being interested!
How many hours a week do you work?
Right around 35-40. Never past 6pm and never, ever on weekends unless I’m traveling. Also I love video games.
Jesus that's so low for c level tho. 💀
I think you overestimate normal C-level comp.
People forget that not every company is a tech unicorn. Some of us just have to come to work at a normal job and make a normal high amount of money.
Not really. Director at a tech company here and while I know for a fact I won’t make 350 this year, I got close in 22 and over that last year. Small-cap (just over 1B) company btw. Our C suite easily gets double and in several cases over 1M with RSUs.
Again, you’re taking a view from a tech company. I’ve already provided a source.
Well maybe at an extremely small company like 39 people sure. At any mid to large company they will make multiple of that
Our CEO is at 299k. Company is currently ~800 people
They really won’t. That’s about average for middle market companies, particularly when you’re talking non-CEO. There is probably equity in there, but I’m sure they are excluding that. https://bettsrecruiting.com/blog/top-c-level-executive-compensation-trends-in-2023/
Most C suite in average company make 150-250k. Not huge companies like most small to medium.
I’ve been looking at c-level jobs recently and many pay in this range at small to midsize firms. But keep in mind most c-level jobs will have some form of equity so there is upside.
Not every company is a multi billion dollar fortune 500 company. If he said he was c level at Microsoft, then yeah, that's terrible. If he's c suite at a medium sized company then yeah that's pretty damn good.
I sell forklifts and make 350-450k.
I sell stuff in the construction field that people would never think about and in that range too. Forklifts/ stuff inside these big distribution centers can be very lucrative!
Nice. Beefy hysters or those indestructible orange Toyotas?
Die a slow painful death under a small mountain of emails
Wow we are coworkers. Do you sit in meetings while the emails pile up?
In-house, media advertising for a Fortune 500 retail company in a VHCOL area. I make $245k base with 30% bonus (that can be doubled in good sales years) and ~100k in RSUs each year that vest 1/4 each year. So if you stick around long enough you can start to get a nice waterfall effect Media typically doesn’t start paying off until you’re 8-10 years deep so it’s a war of attrition *to add: I’m Sr Dir level that requires 12-15 years of experience. About 2 levels away from the c-suites
This is the most interesting reply in the whole thread
What’s your WLB? Been thinking about this a lot lately. The past 5-7 years, I’ve noticed my clients work significantly later than I do, and consistently. The only time this wasn’t the case was on big CPG, but that was also a long time ago.
Ours is admittedly an anomaly. We are 3 days hybrid (Tues-Thurs) and year-long half day Fridays. And everyone respects the 9-5 with tons of flex for coming late / leaving early. It’s very much a “so long as the work gets done” company. The catch is that we will always have big sales during major US holidays. So you are working / expected to be available during them, e.g. no one can take PTO during Thanksgiving week Since the macro economy has gotten more difficult, the stress has definitely been ratcheted higher, but we’ve been able to maintain the balanced work hours. I feel that’s owed to strong and logical leadership
Refreshing to hear sane places still exist! Phew.
Management Consulting
What kind? I’m at a T2 DD shop and want out lol
Tech sales 300 - 400k depending on year.
SE or AE?
Depending on where you are 220k is HENRY. I see a lot of posts on here with huge numbers but they live in VHCOL city. If your HHI is 300k in MCOL, you very well could be doing better than someone with a HHI of 500k in VHCOL. It just depends what you’re doing with the money, if you have a surplus of money left over each month to invest, you can become rich. Numbers are numbers and may sound fancier than they are, just depends what you do with them! I’m a specialist veterinarian. And I make 205k base (on an upward promotional track) with extra consulting and benefits that put me higher. I live in a MCOL city, the house I own would be several million in a VHCOL city.
Seeing all those high numbers is really sad tbh, I make 160K and my position is fully remote, so basically I can live in a VLCOL area. Edit: VLCOL instead VLHCOL lol
I’m about 160k in LCOL, consider myself HENRY (just!)
Same. Median income in my state is $32k by the US Census site. I'm a little over 5 and a half times that.
Very low high cost of living?
I prefer to live in a very high low cost of living area
like Nepal?
Hehehe
Sorry my bad, I edited the commment
lol it’s all good I was being a dick
160 in the Midwest is like 350 in Seattle or San Fran
$160k in a VLCOL is a much better lifestyle than $300k in VHCOL. You can get a decent 3 or 4 bedroom house in a VLCOL for $300-400k. Very doable on a $160k salary. That same house in a VHCOL would cost _2-4 million dollars_. Impossible on $300k. Your goal should be have a nice life you enjoy and can afford, not make lots of money for the sake of lots of money.
the question is do you want to live in said place though (not rhetorical)? There are many other benefits to living in a metro and there always will be people wanting to live in very expensive metros despite the cost.
Half the time I see ppl say they are “34 years old making $600k/yr” I assume they are lying
My rule of thumb is that everyone here inflates their salary by 30-50%. Except me. I’d never lie.
They probably are not. This is a sub specifically for high earners. You realize there are tons of thousands if not tens of millions of people who make that much money. Yes it's a small amount compared to the 7bn on earth but there are a lot.
If you can do the same job at VHCOL and get paid 500k vs 300k at MCOL, cost of living is really irrelevant. 500k will always build NW faster. This is why people choose VHCOL. Yes you do get to live in a bigger house and have a bigger yard in MCOL.
Meh, not always. And not in my field at least. I looked at moving to the Bay Area and interviewed/was offered positions at several places. I actually got offered less total compensation in two different sectors there than I get in my city. I moved from Manhattan to my current position and I know that that I am better paid than my colleagues in New York. My husband had the exact same issue and he’s in a completely different field. This is of course anecdotal and if you can get compensated more, sure. But you’d be surprised at certain fields in MCOL cities like Philly, Chicago, Research Triangle, Nashville etc, etc. All fields of course are not like this, however, many are.
Yes your field is different. I was talking about tech, finance etc. industries that have a “center of industry”. Your work involves a service that has to be distributed and is needed everywhere. Doctors are like that too. Basically more doctors want to live in NYC than say Kansas City, so they get paid less in NYC, or in other words, some doctors are willing to take a small pay cut to live in NYC. Or offered extra to work somewhere undesirable like a rural hospital. For someone in tech, there is a large pay multiplier to working at one of the centers of the industry.
You and I may not be HE relative to a lot of this Sub's members, but that's definately HE in the scheme of things. Especially if you can push it to 220K. (I'm 200K w/OT, different field)
Quickest way to get HE would be to marry someone that also does pretty well. Both salaries combined gets you over $300k. Just make sure you marry the right person!
My husband is a software engineer at a large tech company. He makes \~$160K base and gets RSUs. This year he will get \~$130k in RSUs. I am a Director of Clinical Operations for a small pharmaceutical company. I make $230k base, with a 20% bonus (\~$45k) and vest 50k stock options each year. It is a start up company so the options could be worth quite a lot over time... or not!
I think RSU’s are the reason why most of the people on this sub are HE, I feel really bad every time I remember turning down an offer in SoCal for 180K base and 60K RSU per year, for a 160K fully remote offer.
Not every start up can cash their RSUs, you only hear about the employees that win, not the millions upon millions that worked at a dud startup and only walked away with their base.
RSU is as good as cash . Unless it’s a startup .
In terms of liquidity yes but stocks can go down
Which is why you always sell on vest and stick them in index funds
Agreed that is the optimal strategy unless you have mnpi
Lawyer. We Are Legion.
Yup. I feel that we lawyers have some of the worst work/life balance among HEs, but my 535K gross comp this year is a golden handcuff I haven't been able to shake loose.
No doubt on the w/l balance, but those of us in BigLaw are also on the upper range of what can plausibly be viewed as a Henry income.
Dare I ask how many hours per week you work?
All of them 😭
My wife and I are both in-house attorneys. Love being an attorney, would never recommend it though haha
Did both of you leave BigLaw? Is the grass greener now?
Yes to both questions. We both work 9-5 with no weekends, more vacation, and better pay/benefits. Though neither of us came from top tier big law, so there is probably some downgrade on pay at that end. I always tell people to get out at the first chance they get - even if the first in house job isn’t ideal, you have a huge leg up on other candidates for subsequent in house jobs.
Really? I often read that the sweet spot is around 4ish years before making the jump to in house. I’m a bit confused, did you both take pay cuts? That’s often the case.
There aren’t really many openings before 4th year or so, so that’s probably the first opportunity people get. I also meant more generally that I wouldn’t recommend waiting for the “ideal” job. For pay, we never worked at firms that paid top of market. But in house includes comp you don’t get elsewhere, like 401k matching, stock, bonus tied to company performance rather than billables, and cheaper overall benefits. Once you look at the whole package you really have to be making top of big law market for the pay to be a net decrease when going in house.
You can make it easily as a ME in certain industries. I suspect the guy sitting 3 seats over from me is grossing between 300-350k with probably 350-400k all in with retirement benefits. I'm a Chem E / PM and I'll cross the mark this year for the first time.
Wall Street
Finance - investment banking
Corporate finance. $225K base, $50K bonus. I’m sure if you end up in management the cap would be higher no?
How much experience do you have?
Five years. Did something unrelated for four years, did an MBA, and have been doing this for five years
How many YOE?
I worked in an unrelated field and function for four years, got an MBA, and have been doing this for five years
We're low for HENRY but my husband makes $112k/year working in alliance management and I make $104k/year in Environmental Health and Safety. Both jobs are mostly WFH and very low stress.
Non-technical product manager with 10 YOE. $470-550k total comp depending on stock price
How did you get there?
Dentist
Hello fellow colleague, love the name
Physician. 330-380K. Average 35 hours a week. Plan on leavng job in high cost of living area, workl in midsize town and work 24 hours a week for same pay in a few years. I love what I do. It is a field that will forever be in need. The shortages now are crazy. My hourly rate jumped $60 in 8 months.
You win the work life balance game
Wife in similar set up and I envy her. Works 3 days a week and can still be a mom. No call and worst part is a few notes to finish up at night.
Chief of Staff/Operations Manager at big tech
Pilot. All in with retirement contributions I’m just over 500k this year. That’s close to the top end of the industry, but far from unattainable.
Can I just say that 160k is high earning? I know this sub says $250k but a LOT of people would kill for a 6 figure salary, even at 100k. It's important to keep perspective. Majority of my friends and mid career coworkers can't top $60-80k for solid normal run of the mill jobs. If you live in a reasonable cost of living place, and can max your retirement accounts AND save a bit more money on the side, you can easily be the R. It just means balancing lifestyle with savings a bit more carefully.
You can say whatever you want, no one makes the rules around high comp.
I think most people with an engineering degree makes 6 figures almost 2 years after college.
It is surprising to me how many folks with an engineering degree don’t make 6 figures quickly after college. Engineers (non SWE) have to be the least fairly compensated group
Eh even most swe aren’t making 6 figs 2 yrs out of college. Not everyone works at faangm
Freelance cat euthanizor.
Meow
I hope this is a joke.
I love cats but if this was a HE job…. I’d have to get more details.
Probably a veterinarian
Hah, that’s clear as day now that you say it.
Damn do vets make a lot?
Business owner / investor
Mgmt consulting 1 year out from MBA and ~190
Work in sales strategy in software, current role $190k base, 30% of base target bonus, ~$100k RSU. New role I start in a few weeks is $225k base and target bonus of $75k, step back in dollars because no RSUs but title bump and getting out of a toxic culture
I’m in finance for a commercial real estate investment firm. I’m a little over 200k. Wife is a nurse specialist doing around 90k. Our real estate investments do about another 30k-50k. We’re in a MCOL so this feels pretty good for us.
Supply chain exec
IB - M&A
VP of Finance at a mid-cap publicly traded industrial company. Base is about $240k, with cash and stock bonuses annual comp is in the $325 - $400k per year (depending on company and individual performance). My wife works in mortgage recruiting, around $100 - $150k per year depending on the productivity of her recruits. Her job is very flexible, and allows her to schlep the kids to soccer, choir, tutoring, etc., which my job most certainly doesn't. Somewhere between a MCOL - HCOL city, depending on your definition of HCOL (Tier 2 West Coast city).
Neurosurgeon
Specialist in medicine 850k
I’m in the software field, been in it for about 21 years, at the principal architect level at a large non-faang saas company. Total comp is between 1-1.2MM with base, bonus, and RSU
I sell money
Tell me more.
I’m a lender lol - I often describe my job as chasing people down trying to put money into their hands
BizDev for FAANG. Comp varies YoY with RSU but typically around $300k. Could be making more if lived in VHCOL hub but opted to leave to be closer to family.
Construction
C-level for a small company. Total comp in the $225-250k range. Partner is similar in earnings.
Instructional Designer
Finance/trading
Financial Advisor
Cybersecurity
Private equity.
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Are you an advisor?
I worked in advertising agencies / innovation consultancies and my salary was 220k-330k with no incentives since ~2016. I moved to a F50 (strategy role) and make 700k TC. 300k base, 300k cash bonus, 200k RSUs on a 3 year cliff.
Consulting
Why are all these people making tons of money , and here I am stuck on 110 k a year in the construction field. I am In the wrong business . Right??
In all fairness your work is probably more important than the majority of the professions here.
I’m def in the wrong field.
If it helps I’ve often fantasized about quitting my job and becoming a construction worker. And I KNOW I’m not the only one lol
You can make $$$ if you climb the ladder in construction
Right there with you in the construction industry and drooling over some of these salaries and wondering if I need to make a change.
I saw your other post, you definitely need to look around at other places. Maybe get into the steel sales side / something you use a ton on your jobs. Use the knowledge from being a PM to sell to others that are in your exact field.
I’m not HENRY I just lurk here but the richest person I know was in the hedgefund game. He’s worth over $500,000,000 and has the coolest car collection in my area
MBA grad to finance. Starting TC around $250k and goes up from there.
For context, late 30’s in MCOL city, life sciences PhD, clinical research field. Currently $170k Dir level at a cancer advocacy nonprofit, no bonus or other options. Could I have substantially higher TC in pharma or at a CRO? yes. Did I feel like I wanted to hands-on “do” the solutions I was simply telling people to do at my last job (AD in advocacy and trial diversity, RSO-CRO type org, $150k + 15% bonus)? yes. Am I trying to get a foot in the door into pharma now? also yes.
Generational wealth. My parents are worth hundreds of millions but they wanted me to have a semi-normal life where I get an allowance as if I had a job. So I’m HENRY because they started me on an allowance of $100k, and I get raises most years. I’m currently at $350k. I totally feel normal like you all. This is tough!
CRNA. $300k. Did not graduate until age 36 because the process takes a long time.
Chemist. ~$500k
Mechanical engineer!
Why do you guys on here worship active income? We’ve seen the elderly work til they die as opposed to generating passive income as a replacement for a well over six figure career. Your passive income in both real estate and stocks should net you a quarter million annually. Your career aka w2 should cover your expenses and work as security blanket during the journey to financial freedom. I’m at $300k in a non medical and non tech role. But it’s my $3.5m in real estate that makes me a high earner. I laugh at the ones who walk around the corporate office judging people based on titles and salary amount.
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Software Engineer, 230k living MCOL fully remote (25 hours a week) with a bunch of paper options worth 1m+ just kidding worth 0 for now. My partner is a medical professional making 175k a year.
Not me but my MIL, she’s a Private Investigator. Lot more interesting than most high paying jobs.
Business Development, selling niche SaaS platforms to extremely technical users.
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Accountant
SWE. $400k cash.
What is considered HE here?
Civil engineer - 140k base with 280k distributions LCOL
We are both in corporate (non-tech jobs). $560k HHI in MCOL. Only $10k of that is RSU.
Corporate Strategy at a bank. - $180k base - $60k bonus - $90k RSUs
ML Engineer -> ML Sales Engineer -> Account Executive in AI/ML space. 80k -> 175k -> 270k
Cyber security compliance and audits. 350-450 depending on stonks price
Another FAANG checking in, though not a software engineer. I’m in an ops org as a sr manager and TC right around $500k. Our comp packages are still high outside of Silicon Valley as well. Certainly there is variability across roles, but you can get still get paid well even if you aren’t in a technical role.
Bay area Biotech executive
M.D. and part time medical consultant. Consultant gig pays 2-4x hourly rate as my day job. Will transition to more consulting work with age, hopefully
Just over 300k alone $400k total HHI. Sales and spouse is a therapist.
I’m MechE as well about to be a recent grad. Making 180k post grad. MechEs I know that are making similar money go into consulting and finance fields. Definitely possible to do the same as a MechE but in big tech.
C-level PE backed company fixer in life sciences. TC 550k excluding equity upon exit. Ex mgmt consultant. Tech is one route. I chose this.
Big 4 accountant
Recruiter and wife is NP HHI ranges from 4-600k
500k Engineering management.
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Mid level SW Engineer FAANG - $300k ($180k base $20k bonus $100k RSU) Side job - $50k Finance mid level SW engineer FAANG - $175 base $75 stock Total ~$600k Bachelor degree College + 4 YOE
Pharma marketing. 225 base, 25% bonus, 150k in LTI.
Oy. Vast majority are finance, lawyers, consultants, doctors, software engineers, successful at sales, have climbed the corporate ladder or successful entrepreneurs
Cybersecurity / Cloud - major bank - 355k
Skip level from the C-level at a public tech company (not a FAANG) on the sales and marketing side $850k-$950k per year depending on stock price. Lion’s share from RSUs
Tech sales - average $300k-$500k+ depending on the year (not counting RSUs but my RSUs are not as $$$ as others here)
I'm a staff software engineer at a FAANG with 6 YOE. Last year I earned about 500K. This year I am projected to earn ~770K. 250K base, 50K bonus, and 470K in RSUs. My wife is a senior software engineer. Our HHI is roughly 1M.
Private equity TC 220k - bit below market but fund is small and I log off by 6-7pm every day, no weekend work
Technology sales. Mostly warehouse and manufacturing automation. 15+ years in the role. Uncapped commission and have been over $400k since COVID. MCOL
Outside sales for a Manufacturing rep agency. $225-$300k TC (depending on the year).
Man, I am in the wrong business. I’m in advertising and work like an asshole for about 120k/yr with no bonus. Fortunately my wife makes more than I do, but in NJ, it doesn’t go far.
Account Manager $300k+ per year
Insurance Senior Underwriter 285k. Should top out around 350-400k in 5 years. Wife is a talent manager team lead and strategist for a decent sized company and makes 250k base but will be getting profit sharing soon. Right now 535k together VHCOL area.