Comp Through the Decades
In the 1980s, a starting software engineer at Microsoft made about this much per year.
$30,000-$40,000
This is the standard time frame for stock vesting at most tech companies.
4 years
This U.S. city has the highest average software engineer salary.
San Francisco
This is the standard annual raise percentage for most U.S. employees.
3-5%
In 2023, this company introduced a “ChatGPT” stipend to help employees use AI tools.
Microsoft
In the early 2000s, this Big Tech company was one of the first to make equity a major part of total comp for engineers.
Many companies now offer this perk to help employees pay off student loans.
Student loan assistance
This European country offers the most vacation days by law, affecting total comp structure.
Austria, with 25+ days!
When adjusted for inflation, real wages in tech have done this over the past decade: risen, fallen, or stayed flat?
Risen, but with fluctuation!
In 2010, a Google employee made headlines for negotiating this unusual perk: a $1 million retention bonus to stay with the company.
An engineer named "Google Engineer No. 59"
The average FAANG engineer salary crossed this six-figure threshold in the 2010s.
$150,000
This is the term for a cash bonus awarded based on company performance, often paid annually.
Performance Bonus
In which country are "13th-month salaries" common, meaning employees get an extra month’s pay?
Many in Latin America & Asia
This percentage of a job offer’s total compensation is often made up of equity in FAANG companies.
30-50%
Apple employees can buy company stock at this discount through their ESPP.
15%
This Big Tech company made headlines in the 1990s for offering early employees stock options instead of high salaries—a decision that made many millionaires.
Microsoft
Equity compensation usually comes in these three forms.
RSUs, stock options, ESPP
The average FAANG engineer in India makes less than this percent of their U.S. counterpart’s salary.
30% or less
Compensation bands in the U.S. vary widely, but for an L5 (mid-level) Software Engineer at Google, total comp is usually above this amount.
$250,000
This Big Tech company once paid employees in Bitcoin for a brief period.
Tesla
Adjusted for inflation, a software engineer’s salary in 1995 would be about this much today.
Around $120,000, depending on location and role!
This FAANG company is famous for offering no annual bonuses but very high RSU grants.
Amazon
This country has strict pay transparency laws, requiring companies to list salary ranges in job postings.
Switzerland
In major layoffs, employees often receive severance packages worth this many weeks per year worked.
Typically 2-4 weeks per year
A startup once gave employees this instead of salary, leading to multi-million-dollar payouts years later.
Company-branded cereal—Airbnb’s “Obama O’s”