If I have learned one thing is that's much better to get paid very well for 20 years at a big tech company than it is to be paid median at some smaller outfit hoping to hit the jackpot.
Because even when the start-up has a successful exit, and even if you were an early employee, you'll still have a very small chance of out-earning your buddy who joined big tech.
This has been especially true in the past 10 years: look at the stock prices of Google, Facebook, Apple, etc. They've all gone up significantly, making those yearly RSU additions even more valuable. In a rising market, a 4 year vesting schedule works to the advantage of its owner.
Re:Top Paying Tech Companies by SWE Level
by corporateslave5 on Monday January 06, 2020 @01:54AM
(#21967117)
Actually it’s rare for the options to be worth more than FAANG options. Only the earliest stage employees do well, and adjusted for the risk they take, it’s a really bad deal
The 10 year exercise window should be standard behavior by now; if you're not given 10 years, your employer sadly doesn't want to be competitive. https://triplebyte.com/blog/fixing-the-inequity-of-startup-e...