The cash difference (RSUs are cash) between startups and FAANG is something like $200k+/year if you're moderately senior. That goes up if you're lucky or good enough to get promoted further within FAANG. Startups tend to cap compensation for ICs pretty heavily. That's a lot of money to give up.
Re:I sold Baremetrics
by ffdjjjffjj on Tuesday November 10, 2020 @09:48AM
(#25046536)
Not even close to FAANG level compensation in my experience. I’m just a moderately experienced backend/infra person and VC backed startups would straight up tell me they can’t compete when I told them what FAANGs had offered. We’re talking well over 100k difference in TC, and a significant difference in cash, and that’s not even accounting for liquidity.
It's not just startups. The reality is that (as a developer or certain other types of positions) if you can get a job at one of these companies and are OK with working for them, especially in SV, no one else outside of maybe finance for certain skills is going to seriously salary match. Some people are less concerned about the money but many are indeed focused on maximizing their comp.
And most importantly, the company can afford to pay well. Not quite FAANG level, but plenty for you to reasonably plan to retire (in a FIRE way) at 50 instead of 65.
And heck if it does hit, you’re early enough for a nice cushy bonus.
edit: yes the difference in comp is easily 100k+, but making 180k+ cash to not be a small cog in a gigantic machine, to me, doesn’t sound that bad