A Google Programmer 'Blew Off' A $500,000 Salary At A Startup — Because He's Already Making $3 Million Every Year (2024)

A Google Programmer 'Blew Off' A $500,000 Salary At A Startup — Because He's Already Making $3 Million Every Year (1) A Google Programmer 'Blew Off' A $500,000 Salary At A Startup — Because He's Already Making $3 Million Every Year (2)

A Google Programmer 'Blew Off' A $500,000 Salary At A Startup — Because He's Already Making $3 Million Every Year (3)

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Thanks to all its money, Google is a big winner in the war for talent in Silicon Valley.

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The latest evidence is a story we just heard from the founder of a large, successful enterprise startup.

This founder told us that his startup tried to poach a "programmer" currently working at Google.

The startup made the programmer what it thought was a big offer: a $500,000 salary.

"He blew us off," said the founder.

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The programmer told the startup thanks for the offer, but Google was currently paying him $3 million per year in cash and restricted stock units.

(Restricted stock units, or"RSUs," are as good as stock in that the programmer won't have to buy them to get them.)

A compensation of $3 million per year, or even $500,000 per year, is well above the Silicon Valley average for an engineer. RecruiterScott Purcell says the software engineers he's placing typically make a base salary of $165,000. The average base salary for a Google engineer is $128,000.

But there are outliers besides our $3 million engineer.Twitter's senior vice president of engineer, Christopher Fry, earned $10.3 million last year.

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Google has an industry-wide reputation for getting — and keeping — the people it wants.

It's pretty impressive, for example, that Google was able to remove Andy Rubin from the top of Android and still manage to keep him inside the company, working on robots.

This is a credit to CEO Larry Page. He's made Google into a place where really bright people get to work on extremely ambitious, large-scale problems. Before he took over Google as CEO in 2011, the company was losing a lot of people to startups like Facebook and Twitter. Now, not so much.

It is also a credit to the power of money, which Google has a lot of.

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Update: On Twitter, ex-Googler Hunter Walk (now a VC) warns other startups: "The*worst* way to recruit from Google is with money. For anyone really good, Google will outbid you. So you're left with the ones they don't want to retain."


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On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

A Google Programmer 'Blew Off' A $500,000 Salary At A Startup — Because He's Already Making $3 Million Every Year (2024)

FAQs

A Google Programmer 'Blew Off' A $500,000 Salary At A Startup — Because He's Already Making $3 Million Every Year? ›

The startup made the programmer what it thought was a big offer: a $500,000 salary. "He blew us off," said the founder. The programmer told the startup thanks for the offer, but Google was currently paying him $3 million per year in cash and restricted stock units.

What is the lowest salary at Google? ›

Minimum salary at Google depends on the role you are applying for. For Analyst the minimum salary is ₹6.0 Lakhs per year, for Data Analyst the minimum salary is ₹20.9 Lakhs per year and so on.

Who is the highest paid Google employee? ›

The highest paying role reported at Google is Software Engineer at the L9 level with a yearly total compensation of $2,595,038. This includes base salary as well as any potential stock compensation and bonuses.

What is level 7 at Google? ›

A Level 7: Principal Engineer at Google represents a pinnacle of technical leadership and expertise within the company's Software Engineering hierarchy.

How much does a l6 make at Google? ›

Google L6 Salary
Annual SalaryHourly Wage
Top Earners$167,000$80
75th Percentile$142,500$69
Average$115,241$55
25th Percentile$86,500$42

What is the highest paying job in the world? ›

Details on the Top 5 Highest Paying Jobs in the World
  1. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Topping the list, being a CEO gets you the highest paying job in the world, no matter where you work. ...
  2. Anesthesiologist. ...
  3. General Surgeons. ...
  4. Psychiatrist. ...
  5. Data Scientists.

Does Google really pay well? ›

The average Google salary in the United States is $140,774 per year. Google salaries range between $105,000 a year in the bottom 10th percentile to $187,000 in the top 90th percentile. Google pays $67.68 an hour on average. Geographic location also impacts Google salaries.

How many Google employees are millionaires? ›

There are of course a handfull of rockstars that you hear about and there are those who sell their companies to Google, but the actual number of employees earning $1 million + year in and year out (without a lucky break with stock options or signing bonus) is probably around 40 people.

Do Google employees make millions? ›

The best paid are software engineers, and the highest level ones can take home nearly $1 million in total compensation. Yet many Google employees think they're underpaid.

What is the salary of the CEO of Google? ›

Google CEO Salary | Earned $276 Million Last Year. Google CEO Salary: The Google CEO salary is among the highest paid salaries in the world. Sundar Pichai's base salary in 2023 is $2 million per year. This means that Sundar Pichai's monthly salary is approximately $166,666 per month.

What is L9 in Google? ›

L9(Level 9): Distinguished Software Engineer

Technically accomplished individual with leadership qualities and is equivalent to a Senior Director role.

What is level 9 in Google? ›

Level 9 - Senior Director

Level 9 at Google is primarily a privileged position, with formal statements regarding the promotion only made within the company.

How much does a L9 make at Google? ›

Google L9 Software Engineer Salary | $1.54M-$3.75M+ | Levels. fyi.

Is it hard getting a job at Google? ›

Getting hired by Google can be quite challenging, as the company is known for its high standards and rigorous hiring process. Google receives a huge number of applications from highly qualified candidates from all around the world, which makes competition for positions at the company very intense.

How much does Amazon L6 make? ›

How much does an Amazon L6 make? As of Apr 17, 2024, the average hourly pay for an Amazon L6 in the United States is $55.13 an hour.

How much does a L7 make at Google? ›

Google L7 Software Engineer Salary in United States | $676K-$905K+ | Levels.

What is the standard salary of Google? ›

Google, Inc. Jobs by Salary
Job TitleRangeAverage
Software DeveloperRange:$60k - $136kAverage:$91,591
Program Manager, ITRange:$79k - $170kAverage:$120,940
Senior Software EngineerRange:$113k - $212kAverage:$159,944
Program Manager (Unspecified Type / General)Range:$83k - $178kAverage:$122,775
3 more rows

What do Google employees get paid? ›

Google Employee Salary
Annual SalaryMonthly Pay
Top Earners$83,000$6,916
75th Percentile$69,000$5,750
Average$59,563$4,963
25th Percentile$48,500$4,041

What is the average wage for Google? ›

As of Apr 16, 2024, the average hourly pay for a Google Work in the United States is $18.27 an hour. While ZipRecruiter is seeing hourly wages as high as $19.47 and as low as $5.29, the majority of Google Work wages currently range between $17.79 (25th percentile) to $18.75 (75th percentile) across the United States.

Is it hard to get a job at Google? ›

Getting hired by Google can be quite challenging, as the company is known for its high standards and rigorous hiring process. Google receives a huge number of applications from highly qualified candidates from all around the world, which makes competition for positions at the company very intense.

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