There's also another interesting thing that I've noticed, in recent years, among Indian/Pakistani SSE's (and in my circle of friends) in their preference to move to UAE (or more recently KSA) from EU. Their argument is that they get similar or more salary compared to EU but without the tax deductions and of course being closer to their home country as well.
^Perhaps this can be another data point for collection in future compensation related deep dives!
Central Europe perspective: working in US-BigTech pays much better, but limits opportunities to grow into management/leads/architect etc. positions - as these are usually kept for US-based folks.
That may be hard to get real good data on. But… in 2026 you’re typically gonna see the “RSU cliff” happen for people hired in big tech from 2022. So it might be possible to just look at “equity vs cash” year over year. My guess is that the next couple of years, we’re just going to see that equity award amount gradually reduce.
Zdenek: this highly depends on the country, and tax sometimes things like how folks file (eg as individual or couple in the US), what state taxes there are based on the state one is based in the US, and other circumstances.
You can use takehome calculators - there are so many of them!
I'm mostly curious how far down the list of publicly traded companies you went, and how obviously they had to be tech companies to be included as Big Tech.
Exactly, it doesn't change the conclusion, but I bet a lot of the companies at the top of Tier 1 consider themselves in Tier 2. Hubspot, is a great example they definitely recruit from the same pool as big tech. Especially once you get out of the bay area.
Insightful as always! 🙌🏻
There's also another interesting thing that I've noticed, in recent years, among Indian/Pakistani SSE's (and in my circle of friends) in their preference to move to UAE (or more recently KSA) from EU. Their argument is that they get similar or more salary compared to EU but without the tax deductions and of course being closer to their home country as well.
^Perhaps this can be another data point for collection in future compensation related deep dives!
Central Europe perspective: working in US-BigTech pays much better, but limits opportunities to grow into management/leads/architect etc. positions - as these are usually kept for US-based folks.
In terms of compensation - many of these salary data points are skewed due to 2022's zirp-fueled salary boom.
For a better view on "current" salaries - it might be better to limit to 2023, 2024 where packages have typically gone down a good bit.
That may be hard to get real good data on. But… in 2026 you’re typically gonna see the “RSU cliff” happen for people hired in big tech from 2022. So it might be possible to just look at “equity vs cash” year over year. My guess is that the next couple of years, we’re just going to see that equity award amount gradually reduce.
Do you have any data on how the job being remote affects compensation?
I'm from the UK, thanks.
I love these insights. How much do these folks bring in netto, i.e. after taxes&insurance, though?
Zdenek: this highly depends on the country, and tax sometimes things like how folks file (eg as individual or couple in the US), what state taxes there are based on the state one is based in the US, and other circumstances.
You can use takehome calculators - there are so many of them!
Do you have a full list of the companies (beyond FAANG) that you included as Big Tech?
I'm mostly curious how far down the list of publicly traded companies you went, and how obviously they had to be tech companies to be included as Big Tech.
ya related - thought it was odd that Hubspot wasn’t in the big tech category, much closer to a big tech or scale up than a Disney imo
Exactly, it doesn't change the conclusion, but I bet a lot of the companies at the top of Tier 1 consider themselves in Tier 2. Hubspot, is a great example they definitely recruit from the same pool as big tech. Especially once you get out of the bay area.