10 ms·

Sorry but that's not how it works. $500k/year would mean roughly $250k base+bonus and $1 million of stocks vested over four years. And at most companies, the ve

Sorry but that's not how it works. $500k/year would mean roughly $250k base+bonus and $1 million of stocks vested over four years. And at most companies, the vesting starts after 1 year. So at the end of year one, you would have made $500k in base+bonus+stocks. And after that you would usually get the stocks every quarter so $62.5k worth of stocks every quarter. I am not sure where is your figure of 200-250k Total Comp coming from?

ricardobeat 4y ago
When someone says $500k/year, they usually mean a package like $150k base + $350k stocks with yearly grants. For the standard 4-year vesting schedule, and assuming a new $350k grant every year, this means actual earnings are: Year 1: $150k + $0 $150k Year 2: $150k + $87.5k $237.5k Year 3: $150k + $87.5k*2 $325k Year 4: $150k + $87.5k*3 $412k If you leave here, at year 4, and lose all unvested options (expected), your actual average was $281k/year. Only by year 5 you'll finally actually earn the $500k/year, and the vesting schedule has such an impact on the early earnings that even after a decade, your yearly average is still $400k. Not to forget taxes. So the idea to "save for one year then take 6 years off" is kinda off the menu unless they've been at the company for a long, long time, or are willing to spend those 6 years living in Thailand.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  $500K / year at year four is something entirely different than $500K / year. And that's what the OP said they were making.
  - ricardobeat 4y ago
    How often do people get one large grant upfront, vs yearly refreshers? I was under the impression the latter is the norm.
    - comp_throw7 4y ago
      Yearly refreshers come on top of the initial large grant - I've never seen a place that had yearly refreshers without an initial grant.
    - jacquesm 4y ago
      There are plenty of people making $500K total comp annually right here on HN.

ricardobeat 4y ago

When someone says $500k/year, they usually mean a package like $150k base + $350k stocks with yearly grants. For the standard 4-year vesting schedule, and assuming a new $350k grant every year, this means actual earnings are: Year 1: $150k + $0 $150k Year 2: $150k + $87.5k $237.5k Year 3: $150k + $87.5k*2 $325k Year 4: $150k + $87.5k*3 $412k If you leave here, at year 4, and lose all unvested options (expected), your actual average was $281k/year. Only by year 5 you'll finally actually earn the $500k/year, and the vesting schedule has such an impact on the early earnings that even after a decade, your yearly average is still $400k. Not to forget taxes. So the idea to "save for one year then take 6 years off" is kinda off the menu unless they've been at the company for a long, long time, or are willing to spend those 6 years living in Thailand.

jacquesm 4y ago
$500K / year at year four is something entirely different than $500K / year. And that's what the OP said they were making.
- ricardobeat 4y ago
  How often do people get one large grant upfront, vs yearly refreshers? I was under the impression the latter is the norm.
  - comp_throw7 4y ago
    Yearly refreshers come on top of the initial large grant - I've never seen a place that had yearly refreshers without an initial grant.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    There are plenty of people making $500K total comp annually right here on HN.