I'm a SWE and considering possibility of switching to a designer. Wondering what would be the compensation like for designers in FLAG. As a SWE myself I found most statistic website usually don't reflect salaries I have or I heard, so want to get some first hand information here.
Area and level?
I guess if I make a career switch then must start from entry level. But also interested in mid/senior levels compensation since i gotta have a goal. As for area I'm more interested in user facing software. Mobile and web are both fine.
Why?
I make about 90k and I do it all from the wireframes, research, and prototyping. Even though it’s a small company I feel Im gonna need to ask for a raise soon from all the things I do. But maybe I’m wrong 🤷♂️
If you switch you probably will have to start from the bottom. So 80-90k for Bay Area product designer. That number can grow to easily 400k+ once you’re director.
Hard to imagine an eng passing a top tier company’s hiring bar for design
I can hardly imagine myself passing top tier eng bar yet I still got in a few top tier companies and did job right. So I'm not a believer of so called "bar".
Self doubt and imposter syndrome are far from uncommon in tech. Trust me, the bar exists.
New grad at fb/google design is around 105-110k base, 100k rsu, 15% target bonus
Thanks for sharing. Sounds about same level as new grad eng.
Can corroborate these numbers
From my experience here and talking with others, engineering and designer TC at “top tier” companies are very similar. Same bands for base and bonus. Equity might be but heavier for eng but I mean, generous compared to 99% of other companies out there. I share a similar question with sostrange that a career change starts you all over again with just as many challenges getting into the best companies. Best of luck with it. Design is a rewarding experience.
At top tech companies the salary is usually just a little below SWE on a level by level basis.
If you can design, you should do it. What got you thinking about it in the first place? TC is on par with engineering, mostly. Highest level engineers probably make more on average though.
60K in a lot of places. 150k for exceptional skills.
Base or TC?