Entry level salary

Cigna
bigNoOne

Go to company page Cigna

bigNoOne
Nov 6, 2021 16 Comments

YOE: 1.5
Current TC: 120k

I am a career changer. Been working in engineering for 4.5 years, 1.5 as SWE.

I am looking for a new job and have heard from friends in the tech industry that 150k should be my floor for TC. Seems kind of hard to find though. Except at big tech or well known companies (FAANG, doordash, LinkedIn, Roblox, Airbnb, etc)

Am I being unrealistic? Or should I really only expect TC in that area from these well known tech companies?

Tons of companies looking for SWE but it seems like most don’t pay near 150 for entry level.

#tech #entrylevel #salary #tc

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TOP 16 Comments
  • AIG
    Lurkovic

    Go to company page AIG

    Lurkovic
    West coast & FAANG/Unicorn salaries have folks jaded, 120k is actually the going rate even for seasoned SWEs that say work at a bank or insurance company in the South. Entry is more like 90-100k. Even MSFT doesn’t offer > 120k for entry level folks b/c they lean heavy on “great benefits” except in the mythical land called Blind where everyone makes 400k🧢
    Nov 6, 2021 3
    • Cigna
      bigNoOne

      Go to company page Cigna

      bigNoOne
      OP
      None of the companies (startups) that have been reaching out to me show up on there. Hard to know what to expect from smaller companies I guess
      Nov 6, 2021
    • AIG
      Lurkovic

      Go to company page AIG

      Lurkovic
      Levels.fyi will show you that base for entry level at MSFT is 110k + 28k stocks on average which mean there are plenty making less. I live in the South-East & got an offer from MSFT that I turned down so I know first hand (105k + 10k stocks + performance bonus)
      Nov 6, 2021
  • People need to stop telling lies. Amazon only pays that entry level with that signing bonus. After that bonus goes away, you’re barely making 150k.

    However, you can make it at a number of companies… even finance companies.

    150 as a floor though? That’s an extremely out of touch stretch of a floor number. Like. EXTREMELY.
    Nov 6, 2021 3
    • AIG
      Lurkovic

      Go to company page AIG

      Lurkovic
      Folks should check out Glassdoor if they want to see what your average Developer makes outside of the Blind Bubble.

      BTW, YoE doesn’t mean shit unless you’re a government employee. It’s what you know & how well you interview that matters.
      Nov 6, 2021
    • Anything less than 2 years is entry level because most places don’t promote you until 2 years.
      Nov 6, 2021
  • Im guessing ur not from the US then?
    Nov 6, 2021 3
  • Workday / Eng
    z-low

    Go to company page Workday Eng

    z-low
    Have you applied to and gotten rejected by all the FAANGMULA, Tier 2, unicorn startups out there? If not, what’s stopping you? One thing I wish I could go back and tell the 1.5 YOE me is to aim high, don’t doubt your own worth, and don’t settle for “good enough”.
    Nov 6, 2021 0
  • New / Eng
    suds_

    New Eng

    suds_
    startups.... I make 150(excludes paper money) and I have < 1yoe at a small startup nobody heard of.
    Nov 6, 2021 2
    • Cigna
      bigNoOne

      Go to company page Cigna

      bigNoOne
      OP
      Did you start out at that level for promote up? And what do you mean “excludes paper money”? Your TC is higher than that? What’s your base?
      Nov 6, 2021
    • New / Eng
      grTfd

      New Eng

      grTfd
      How'd you find that startup?
      2d