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A comment on GitLab – A $1B business where all employees work remotely. Parent comment

Re:GitLab – A $1B business where all employees work remotely by WA on Monday July 22, 2019 @04:22PM (#20501953)
Why not compare with other remote companies, but with local ones?

Furthermore, I’d care a lot if I made a lot less than a colleague for the same type of work at the same company.

Living in a cheap area comes with drawbacks. It might be a good choice for some, but a necessity for others (maybe they have relatives to take care of). I don’t really see how my choice of location should affect my payment in a remote company at all. But then, maybe a company like Gitlab wouldn’t be the right place for me, because I don’t share their salary philosophy.

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Re:GitLab – A $1B business where all employees work remotely by emilycook on Monday July 22, 2019 @04:56PM (#20502249)
> Why not compare with other remote companies, but with local ones?

Because there really aren't that many of them, and even fewer who aren't also using local rates.

> Living in a cheap area comes with drawbacks.

I agree, I live in a cheaper COL location. But, I was already living here, so I'm not sure how my salary at GitLab affects that. Local companies don't pay you more because of the drawbacks of living in a cheaper location. If I moved to a higher COL location then I would be compensated for that [1]. The mechanics are the same, I just get to do my job from home.

> I’d care a lot if I made a lot less than a colleague for the same type of work at the same company

This is, I think, the most important factor. I didn't decline my offer at GitLab in favor of staying at my previous company because I knew my salary would be the same as every other employee. I compromised on that front so I could work remotely for a company that I really felt like was a better fit for me.

[1] https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-c...

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Re:GitLab – A $1B business where all employees work remotely by conductr on Monday July 22, 2019 @07:05PM (#20503109)
Really you’re not right for them because you don’t share their remote philosophy. Their comp structure is designed to filter for employees who value remote over all else. Kind of makes sense for a 100% remote company to do that. People who are wanting SF rates in Thailand aren’t really motivated by remote, it’s a perk, but geo arbitrage is the real motivation.
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