Which company in the Hardware sector pays the most TC?
Mar 17, 2021
127 Comments
Looking to switch, and was wondering which hardware company pays the most TC as far as your knowledge goes....
My software friends are paid like crazy by companies like Uber/ Snap. What do hardware folks do to go to that higher TC bracket?
YOE: 4ish
TC: 200k
#hardware #semiconductor
comments
I was on finaid in college (my family was poor) and worked to cover any remaining costs. My husband worked, had scholarships, and invested his student loans in the stock market in college. We both went to grad school (tuition + stipend paid for RA position), which gave us a longer grace periods on the loans. As a result, we paid off the loans and even managed some savings when we graduated. Rent in SF was a sticker shock ($3K/month) but other than that, we continued to live fairly uninflated lifestyles that allowed us to save a lot each year. We splurged once a year on a vacation, but did so on a budget (motels, camping, award points, economy flights).
I will admit the first 2-3 years of owning our house were not the most pleasant time of my life--house poor and living on a tight budget to afford renovations. I definitely feel very lucky now that it's all done and I'm at a more stable job where I don't ever worry about money anymore. My case may be a bit exceptional...but I also had a coworker at my former startup (also made less than 130K) buy a brand new townhouse in Hayward for $850K about years ago after he quit and worked at Apple for a year. He's also in hardware, my age, lived in the Bay less than 10 years, not as frugal, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't making $500K. Houses in my neighborhood currently are selling above $1 million, but smaller fixer uppers look to be around $650-$850.
It's definitely doable to have a decent life and raise a family in $300K. It just depends where/what you want to buy and how you're willing to live to get there. You certainly won't make it if you spent your 20s living in a luxury apartment and spending money on things like fancy restaurants, top shelf liquor, extravagent international vacations, or designer handbags. Nor if you have plans of having 4 kids and raising them in a 3000sqft house on a 1 acre lot. No one should have the mentality that they are somehow still middle class making $300K though (middle class is generally defined as 2/3-2x the median income, which is less than $150K in a lot of cities in the bay area).