Compare offer Indeed vs AmEx - higher base salary but possibly lower TC
3.5 yoe ~$111.5k total yearly grossed at Indeed for 2023 ~$130k total yearly grossed at Amex with offer. Currently at Indeed.com making ~$95k base salary, and was awarded $35k in RSUs earlier this year. Assuming things continue, I could expect $35k in RSUs again in April, but that amount isn’t guaranteed by any means and I was told $35k was the most I could be granted in my band level. We also typically get a quarterly bonus, a percentage of 10-20% of your quarterly salary (salary / 4), however Indeed announced changes to bonus funding so this recent quarter we only got 80% of what our bonus should have been (example, 15% bonus would be 0.8 * .15 * quarterly salary) and the next quarter’s projection is 18% of your awarded bonus (yes you read that right, this would be a couple hundred dollars at best before tax). Merit, bonuses, and promotions are uncertain at Indeed, and I was already deferred a promotion in the last cycle after 1.5y of exceeds+ ratings on my team, due to no budget. Indeed’s tech stack for data engineering is Python, pandas framework only, no real big data tools to speak of, PySpark is not supported at the moment. Additionally, our team is very siloed and we each work on our own projects, with myself being responsible for over 10 different data pipelines, as well as being responsible for leading cloud data migration efforts for my entire org and affiliated orgs. It very much feels like I am over worked for my very low base salary. Indeed is fully remote, and open/unlimited PTO policy. Also despite the seemingly higher TC, I only grossed $95k salary + $9.5k bonus + $7k stock this year ($111.5k total), not the full $143k tc due to fluctuating bonuses and RSU vesting taking 4 years. I have received an offer from American Express as a big data engineer with a base salary of $120k, no stocks and no signing bonus, however I get a guaranteed 8% bonus yearly and it is increased based on company performance and never less than 8%. Additionally, this role is using a tech stack I much prefer (PySpark, Hadoop, and options to use Java and Spark as well) vs Indeed’s. The role at Amex seems to be handling much higher volumes of data vs my Indeed role, which sounds like an opportunity to learn new skills. Amex has a slightly lower TC but the cash is essentially guaranteed. Annual 3-5% merit guaranteed as well. Hybrid work schedule with 3x days in office a week, 2x days at home, and 20x additional days a year for remote work. 24 days of PTO with option to purchase 5 additional days which are refunded if not used. Better tech stack and on a team of engineers I could collaborate on projects with and learn from. Better coding standards and practices vs my Indeed team. Any feedback is appreciated! #engineering #data #dataengineer #indeed #amex
Guaranteed minimum bonus % is weird… why not just make it part of your base? Better for taxes. Also, what’s the location for Amex? Also, does the Indeed phoenix office have free food? It really adds up .
Yeah there’s free food at the Indeed office as well as the Amex offices, so completely even trade there
It’s guaranteed but I’m sure they can always pull some stunt saying they won’t be doing bonuses if things get rough, therefore not needing to pay out vs if it was in a salary instead
Your tc calculations are messed up. It’s like 112k at best. Even if you get another 35k grant next year it will vest over 4 years. At best you will get 120k a year. In this case I’d take Amex offer no problem. Edit: or did $35k of stocks vest this year? I am not really getting your post. If so stay at indeed
Indeed RSUs are also trash. Parent company is traded on the Tokyo stock exchange. Pain in the ass to liquidate. And yen is tanking vs. the dollar, which is the same thing as stock depreciation
@workday I was granted $35k in stock and it vests over 4 years. You’re correct, at the top of my post I state my gross from Indeed is $111.5k annual
Amex would be a laid back job, from my experience working with tech partners. Sounds like you'd be coming in at B30 band level, where 8% min is guaranteed, but can be higher based on your performance and company performance. For example, last year many high performing SDEs got more than 20%. This year might trend towards 15%. Regarding Amex PTO, you don't get any national holidays so use PTO days for Thanksgiving or Christmas. You also get flex Fridays (up to 4 days off) in the summer and 6 sick days in addition to the PTO. We are going 3 x week hybrid starting January in case your recruiter did not inform you about that.
Hold up, they don’t give you Thanksgiving or Christmas off? You need to use PTO?
Correct. So subtract the holidays from your PTO to get the real number. Or many people work holidays, if their leader allows them to.
Make Indeed your second job and coast while focusing on proving yourself at the new job. Indeed is a shitty place to work these days, they deserve it.
Go for Amex. No brainer
AmEx, no brainer, better brand for your resume
I’m not so sure about that. SWEs at Indeed make like 30% more than SWEs at Amex
Indeed>>>amex