Leaked Microsoft pay guidelines reveal salary, hiring bonus, and stock award ranges by level

Paywall. Can you summarize it

Leaked Microsoft pay guidelines viewed by Insider provide insight into how much the company pays new hires by level, with ranges for base pay, hiring bonuses, and annual stock awards. The guidelines were published earlier this year and are used by hiring managers to decide how much to offer new hires, according to a person with direct knowledge of the process. It's unclear how broadly the guidelines apply, or whether they are just for one specific role or business, but the ranges provide a window into how Microsoft thinks about its various level designations. Several Microsoft employees told Insider the ranges in the guidelines skewed low based on their personal experience, but did not have access to additional guidance for hiring managers. Pay at Microsoft varies by field and location, so a company-wide standard for pay per level across all units doesn't exist. US-based Microsoft employees in San Francisco and New York are paid more because they live in higher cost-of-living areas and some fields, like roles within engineering, also fetch higher pay. The highest pay package in the guidelines viewed by Insider was $361,500 in salary, $1.2 million as a hiring bonus, and about $1 million in annual stock awards. The lowest was a $42,500 salary, with no hiring bonus and no guaranteed stock award. Microsoft uses a system of levels to denote seniority. Higher levels come with higher offers, according to the guidelines. Levels also vary by field and location, but generally, "senior" starts at level 63, "principal" starts at level 65, and "partner" starts at level 68, according to insiders. Not all types of roles go up to level 70, but in engineering, an employee at this level would be considered a "distinguished engineer.'" There's also a level 80 for a "technical fellow," which is typically one of the highest-ranking executives at the company. The guidelines also don't include cash bonuses, which are typically a standard percentage by level and can be high, for instance, 90% of base pay at the partner level, one insider said. In 2022, when the economy was still booming, Microsoft granted an across-the board compensation raise for levels 67 and lower through larger stock grants, in response to growing internal dissatisfaction with compensation compared to competitors, and to stop employees from leaving for better pay, especially to Amazon. As Insider previously reported, earlier this year, as the economy faltered, Microsoft froze base pay raises and cut its budget for bonuses and stock awards.

5th time seeing it in last 2 days

Like if you agree that MSFT pay is tier 5

the very least they could do, was get it right, it's not even good data.