entry level jobs in software engineering at FAANG were over 120K about 10 years ago and that was already underpaid. California is a really expensive place to live long term and people generally do not do the math and do not account for child care, retirement, sickness or health issues or whatever. then there is the cost of (ongoing) education and issues of mental health in this industry.
And those who think remote will be long term to their advantage are wrong. All that will happen is that these companies will find a way to pay you less. The solution is to organize.
for those who will reply that people are making less in CA and also need to survive… i was in a black uber recently and the driver told me he was averaging 20K per month. not bad for driving a car with zero education or leetcode requirements.
Now that I think about it, you're right. The entry level in SF & Peninsula 10+ years ago was 120k (except startups). Entry level hasn't increased with cost of living so that 120k isn't the same as 10 years ago. Senior pay has increased a little at around 200k-300k. Depending on equity value that might be 300k-500k total comp.
based on levels.fyi senior comp should be somewhere around 800k TC which makes sense taking into account what living in metro areas in CA will cost taking everything into account long term. of course a large part of that is equity etc. 200k is still not very well paid taking into account many other ways you can make money and the crazy requirements put on engineers.
As somebody who looked into doing the highest echelons of Uber/Lyft in the most expensive parts of California - I do believe your driver was lying to you about $20k/mo.
Would be glad to be proven wrong, but I’ve looked pretty deeply into it.
this is not uberX but uber black or SUV. i think he is doing a lot of airport trips which are going to be at least $50 without tips. but you are right, i have no way of verifying what he said.
And those who think remote will be long term to their advantage are wrong. All that will happen is that these companies will find a way to pay you less. The solution is to organize.
for those who will reply that people are making less in CA and also need to survive… i was in a black uber recently and the driver told me he was averaging 20K per month. not bad for driving a car with zero education or leetcode requirements.