According to levels.fyi, Amazon pays significantly less than the rest of FAANG. Is that true? What's the comp for Senior Eng (L6)?
Recently joined amazon; 4YOE; total is 250 and base is 160. I don’t think it’s bad at all. Am happy - at least that’s what matters to me.
It pays slightly under Facebook and Google but that’s because Amazon is HQ’d in a state with no State income tax. Also, the vesting schedule for Amazon RSU is setup in a way that if you leave before 4 years, you don’t make that much money.
Joining Amazon as an sde1 in the bay. I originally had an offer for 165k in seattle. When i asked to be moved to the bay, they tacked on 20% so my new offer was just under 200k. For 1yoe, I think the offer is comparable if not better than rest of the fang
I joined Amazon recently as L5 Scientist in Bay Area. TC: 290+.
L6 SDEs in the Bay can get 420-450+ normally.
I recently joined as L5 @250k. 5 yoe. Perfectly happy with Amazonian comp. Also Twitch gets additional perks like food, parties, and chill vibe, so can't complain
It's true. Most (70-80%) SDE3s here are "supposed to make" around $250k. SDE2s, likewise, but $185k. These are the hidden "target comp" figures that HR uses to determine annual adjustments (including refreshers, if any). A select group of "top tier" performers will temporarily go to 380k and 240k, respectively--top of band--and then back to the bottom if they don't sustain that or get promoted. People are getting more simply because they're sitting on heavily backloaded RSU grants that have appreciated 200-300% since they were issued, or because they're a recent hire with a top-of-band offer (been seeing a lot of these lately--presumably because HR is anticipating an exodus as the on-hire grants for the 2014-2015 cohort sunset). This won't last forever. Don't forget the other hidden costs: 0-1% annual raises, no bonuses, no refreshers (people getting those aforementioned top-of-band offers are still TARGETED at the bottom), mediocre benefits, no perks, and one of the worst 401(k) plans in big tech (so bad, in fact, that we can't even contribute to the normal max on our own, because Amazon's plan has failed the HCE discrimination test for several years running). That seemingly tiny ~6k in additional annual matches you'd get elsewhere will be worth a lot more after compounding tax-free for 30+ years.
Can you elaborate on the “we can’t even contribute to the normal max on our own” part. Are you suggesting that a person can’t even contribute the current $19k of employee contributions?
That's exactly right. If you do, 2-3k of it will be refunded to you ("over-contributions") the next year and reported as taxable income for that particular tax year. Has happened to me twice in a row now.
Amazon pay is about the same, but low refresh and benefits. L6 external hire can get ~350k.
I think the problem is you will still cap at 160-180.. that might be a proble for a lot of people
L6 external hire can get 390 outside the Bay or NY and probably up to 420 otherwise.