Amazonian here. Can anyone else from Amazon speak to whether you think these numbers look accurate?
I'm sitting here in almost disbelief at how little I apparently make at AMZN. I don't think I have anyone to ask that would know and would be willing to give any kind of answer.
I've been fairly content at Amazon. I've done good work, and have been a resource to others on my team. But if these numbers are right, I don't think I can stay much longer.
I've been an L5, L6, L7 and L8 at Amazon over the last 10 years. My experience is that once you've been here a while the total comp is a rollercoaster that follows the stock price. I haven't had a salary increase since I was L6 (and don't want one!) ... so for me it all comes down to when I got stock and how it performed over the next few years. Personally I've done very well that way, as it's nearly always outperformed expectations. I think that tenured people like me skew the comp distribution because of that factor.
In general though, although it's human and natural, I wouldn't focus on what I make vs my colleagues or try to measure worth quite like that. It's simpler to think about it terms of "What would I make elsewhere and would I really be willing to leave and go through the disruption and risk of a change in jobs for that".
Is the reason you haven't received a salary increase since L6 because you reached the max base pay?
Why do you say you don't want a salary increase?
Regarding your last point, my focus is actually not on what I make vs my colleagues, but rather what I make vs what I could potentially be making elsewhere. You're of course right about the risk of a job change, but I wouldn't leave unless I felt confident that I found a good fit.
I'm not at the max base pay ... though I have gotten to the point where the majority of my comp is in stock anyway. It's always a gamble, but I have enough confidence in Amazon for the long term that given a certain total comp target, I'd prefer as much of the comp as possible be in RSUs. Then again, I have enough financial security that I can also afford to lose that bet.
My understanding was that large run ups (or downs!) in AMZN stock would result in adjustments, such that your total comp stays on target. Is that a simplistic description?
I've been here 4 years. I'm sorry, I'd rather not divulge much more than that.
Stock growth did result in a higher than expected TC, but the number of shares I have vesting will drop substantially over the next 2-3 years. If you're curious, every year I've been here my manager has given me great annual reviews. My base pay is substantially lower than the others on the list.
What are refreshers? Perhaps it's something I know by another term?
Location matters a lot, for all tech companies. Cost of living in Bay Area for example is really high, and salaries reflect that. The exact same position in two different cities can vary by 20% or more depending on location, and that's true for any company.
It's basically understood at this point that tech salaries are going to be orders of magnitude lower outside of the US, no matter the company, country, or cost of living or economic health of the country.
There could be issues around how to interpret this data, especially around stock. Those with a few years of experience are probably reporting a significant vested stock as part of the comp. Alternatively, there could also be cases where folks added the whole stock options that they were granted, even if they've not vested. The package that I got at Amazon as a fresh grad school graduate more than 5 years ago would've been $360K if I added everything... but that was not my ANNUAL comp. When I talk to folks at Amazon, they typically don't report the annual number, which is lower.
I'm sitting here in almost disbelief at how little I apparently make at AMZN. I don't think I have anyone to ask that would know and would be willing to give any kind of answer.
I've been fairly content at Amazon. I've done good work, and have been a resource to others on my team. But if these numbers are right, I don't think I can stay much longer.