My brother (new PhD grad) got the following 2 offers for HWE positions at Apple and Qualcomm, both in Bay Area. TC comparison isn’t straightforward cuz Apple RSU is higher but Qualcomm bonus (sign on and retention) is pretty good. Apple: 155k base, 120k RSU / 4 yrs , 20k bonus Qualcomm : 140k base, 40k RSU / 3 yrs, 35k sign on bonus, and 75k retention bonus (vests over 2 years...40k on 1st anniversary and 35k on 2nd anniversary) Other factors : Qualcomm has better WLB and role has lots of flexibility Apple role is less flexible but on a SPG team Any thoughts or advice on which offer to choose ?
Apple. Brand name matters. It will increase his value in following years to come. WLB is overrated. Everything depends on your team and Manager.
I worked in QC San Jose before moving to Apple. You will definitely have a much better WLB there, people are much more friendly too. Apple is a good brand to have on resume but almost every team that I know has messed up WLB. QC has great internal transfer mechanism whereas Apple almost forbids internal transfers. If pay structure for the next 2-3 years is almost same then that makes it a tough choice. But you decide what is important to you. But in my experience, having the ability to easily change teams in the company is a big thing. What if you dont like the team that you originally joined!
Well thought out perspective instead of the lame WLB excuses. 👏
TC at Apple will be higher - SPG gives decent performance-based stock refreshers (60k+). Qualcomm doesn’t AFAIK (or not much). Only choose Qualcomm if WLB is really important or Qualcomm role is much more interesting
What about overall business performance of the company...would you take that into consideration? It seems Qualcomm hasn’t been great over the last year or so. Stock price is on the decline, merger with NXP was blocked, they’re also losing senior talent to Apple and Intel...
do they offer him a staff or senior level at Qualcomm. also, is this for ASIC engineering ?
Is It for Qualcomm San Diego?
No Qualcomm San Jose