Moving from Midwest to SF in a series E startup
Apr 22
11 Comments
Hi all,
I have been at Cummins for 10+ years in the Midwest. I received the following offer from a late stage startup in San Francisco (mechanical engineer, hardware role):
195k cash + 300k in stock grants (vesting over 4 years) and a $10k lumpsum for relocation.
Is this a good offer?
I have a 2.5 year old, dog, house that I have to sell and a wife (who also moved to a remote job this month, so could it be a risky move if one of us loses our jobs).
What else can I negotiate on especially since they are not as cash rich as the big tech companies?
#bayarea #startup #midwest #sanfrancisco #hardware
comments
Honestly, ask yourself what’s important to you. I think the bay is amazing. The people, the activities, and the money are all awesome.
I also thoroughly believe the work experience will be 10x a sleepy midwestern company. Sure, maybe you won’t have the security, but will there be a part of you that will wonder “what if” if you stay?
Also, the more roots you put down, the more harder it will be to leave the Midwest…
Go have an adventure.
PS- if you do get laid off, there are more companies than people here. It’ll be fine
I have a 2.5 years old son. I have an offer for 205K TC and my spouse is cofounding a startup (160k TC and 10% from the total stocks).
Do you think this is a wise decision giving your experience ?
I read you need about $450-600k a year to me middle class in SF when you have kids. You’ll be good, but def work your tail off to increase your TC while your wife is working on her startup.
Best area you’ll make it work is with housing. Try to get something cheap and rent controlled.
If you can increase your TC by the time your kiddo is school aged, it will be a lot easier to live here