r/financialindependence • u/fidgit86 • 9d ago

What do you do that you earn six figures?

It seems like a lot of people make a lot of money and it seems like I’m missing out on something. So those of you that do, whats your occupation that pays so well?

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u/rachetheavenger FIRE 2038 9d ago edited 9d ago

Hardware engineer, i am not good at coding.

450k annually rn, expecting a bump this year to 550k, in my early thirties, also a brown immigrant, started with 7.5$/hour with no family on the continent.

Edit - for people wondering, I got international scholarship from a US univ to come study here, did part time jobs for rent and food (and occasionally alcohol :-P). My fam is back in 3rd world.

Finished MS in ECE - was almost broke when I was hired by FAAMG 8-9 years as a chip design engineer. Started at 6 figure salary plus 6 figure stock alloc (barely).

It only grew after that, expecting 4th promo this year, In mid COL area.

Trick is stay hungry and stay at the top of whatever you do - school, college, entrance exams, work, projects whatever.

Chase perfection - forget money, it’ll auto flow to you as a side product. (Even tho I kinda was and stumbled into it, so this is hindsight 20/20 type of thing)

It’s not uncommon btw- check level 5 to 7 (technical ladder) at faamg, everyone makes bank. Just need the skill set.

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u/dunkindohnutzz 9d ago

How do I start a career like this?

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u/OregonGrown34 9d ago

Get an EE degree. OP's salary is definitely an outlier, but 6 figures is pretty typical.

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u/SordidCanary 9d ago

Not calling bullshit, but not saying I believe them either

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u/completefudd 9d ago

It's probably total compensation, including RSUs and bonuses

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/Powerlevel-9000 9d ago

FAANG elite engineers get multi million dollar salaries.

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u/SordidCanary 9d ago

Then I stand corrected! I imagine that this is really a handful of people, less than 100 it must be. At some point whatever value you're describing is stock/RSUs and not salary/liquid

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u/HuffaPuff420 9d ago

That's definitely not true. I'm 5 years out of college and I'm at 400k at a FAANG. I didn't even join early, plenty of people with 5 yoe here are making 500+. And once you hit e6, you're hitting 1m reliably. E6 is not rare at all.

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u/FruitStickSupreme 9d ago

Damn, what did you do in college? Do you live in a HCOL area?

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u/Super_consultant 9d ago

This is a myth to an extent and one I believed in for a while. But if you’re somewhere with a vesting cliff and it’s a public company, those RSUs are fairly liquid after a year. Some employees may be subject to a trading window which limits liquidity somewhat. What people consider “paper money” and illiquid is options which depend on a IPO, acquisition, etc.

Most senior engineers at my level clear $400k total comp. Even in VHCOL they’re coming out way ahead.

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u/Neirchill 9d ago

Why do so many people use N in the acronym when there are no companies that start with N apart of it?

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u/Eazy3006 9d ago

Netflix ? Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google ( Alphabet )

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u/Neirchill 9d ago

That would be weird since Netflix isn't known for following levels.fyi and Microsoft, who is actually in the top 5, would be there over Netflix.

I tried googling faang but the only thing that I saw come up was faamg, which was the same as what you said but Microsoft instead of Netflix

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u/completefudd 9d ago

https://www.levels.fyi/

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u/MaximumAbsorbency 9d ago

Jesus Christ I'm at the wrong company

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u/KookyManster 9d ago

400k+ salaries for engineers are pretty much high end of the spectrum in the top 5 tech companies. Most of the time, the salaries is that high because companies pay in RSUs and stocks have sky rocket in the past 5 years. I make 320k at a "medium" tier tech company, but more than half of that is in RSU stocks.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/OregonGrown34 9d ago

Are you a hardware engineer?

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u/SordidCanary 9d ago

Right, so while it's possible this guy is among those 200-400 people at the very highest level of the very best tech companies on the planet, I think it's possible he's lying.

Also, including RSUs in your yearly earning or salary is a bit deceiving.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/Super_consultant 9d ago

It’s a weird myth that’s somehow been perpetuated and/or confusion on RSUs vs. options.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/Super_consultant 9d ago

Not being educated enough on this stuff really limited my early career and I hate to see it parroted. A lot of it was around how engineering salaries were inflated because of VHCOL - which is partly true, but engineers at even young unicorns are coming out way ahead. The other was around getting only paper money… Partly true, but there’s also this magic thing called RSUs…

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u/friendofoldman 9d ago

After the first year, which vests 25%, mine vest at I think 10% each quarter after.

Also as s it shows on W2, and is taxed at vesting it’s fair to classify as income.

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u/egeustimentis 9d ago

Many people on my team at FAANG are at 300-400k. The principal engineer is at 600k+. The distinguished engineer is at 1M+.

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u/SordidCanary 9d ago

Here’s what I understand: 1. A worker is only paid commensurate with how valuable and RARE their skill set is. 2. Computer science programs are pumping out more software engineers than nearly any other field is pumping out workers 3. Almost none of those people will work for FAANG 4. Of the FAANG engineers, they will only afford to pay a handful the massive sums you describe, and of course, that sum is subject to RSUs.

So my conclusion is that this person is unlikely to be the very few people with a rare and valuable enough skill set to be compensated that way

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u/Super_consultant 9d ago

You need to remember that FIRE on Reddit seems to lean towards tech and software engineers. It’s not just FAANG engineers who earn those salaries. It’s also engineers at unicorn tech companies (Airbnb, Airtable, etc.). It’s also non-engineers at tech companies. FAANG isn’t a comprehensive acronym if we’re talking about high-compensation tech companies.

RSUs are liquid post-vesting. You’re also told the value of RSUs that will be purchased and you know how many shares you have locked until vesting. RSUs literally appear on your W2 because they are income and are taxed as such until capital gains. Base salary even for MCOL is past 130k at unicorns for an entry level.

I don’t understand this subreddits weird obsession with doubting people’s compensation.

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u/egeustimentis 9d ago edited 8d ago

Getting into a FAANG is not that difficult.

Getting in and getting promoted to higher levels is where the difficulty comes in. I know several people in their 40s who will not be promoted to senior engineer. The level above junior is considered a terminal level, and many people do not make it further.

Also - implying RSUs don't matter is kind of nonsensical since most pay at that level comes from RSUs. For example, many companies cap base salary at e.g. 160k base salary. If you are making $600k, $440k of that is coming from RSUs.

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u/KookyManster 9d ago

Exactly. All salary negotiations comes in TC, not just base+bonus. ALL large companies like to keep cash on hand for expansion and investments. Unless you get options, pretty much everyone add in RSU when implying salary.

Steve jobs took only $1 in salary, and only an idiot would say Jobs made $1 a year.

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u/OregonGrown34 9d ago

Are you a hardware engineer?

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u/egeustimentis 9d ago edited 9d ago

I am in software. While software pay is generally higher than hardware for sure, much of the above still applies to hardware, according to my friends that work in hardware at the same company. Might cap out at $100k less or so, but these are still achievable levels if you are VERY good at what you do/work on high impact projects (think Google Home/Alexa/iPhone).

Definitely concede that it is harder to get to that pay in hardware, and you do need to be VERY good, but you don't need to be insanely good.

Also- something to note is that at higher levels, despite being an IC, you will be advising senior leadership/VPs and essentially have the final say on whether to greenlight a product, etc. Our principal engineer spends 90% of their time in meetings and reviewing documents, and doesn't really code at all. So some would say that's leaning more into management territory- lines are definitely blurred the higher you go.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/Super_consultant 9d ago

Yes, but apparently RSUs shouldn’t be counted even though it’s probably the accelerating factor for achieving FI. Not sure why it gets so much flak around here given that it is liquid and it’s a negotiation line-item for optimizing for higher comp.

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u/OregonGrown34 9d ago

RSUs should definitely be included when talking about yearly compensation, it has an immediate value at vesting. I'll argue that this pay is an outlier for a -hardware- engineer. Plenty of highly compensated SWEs at top companies, not nearly the same treatment for HW. I work at a company that is very HW centric and that level of compensation isn't the norm. A principal engineer with 25+ years of experience might be lucky to start breaching that level of pay.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/OregonGrown34 9d ago

So with that in mind, do you think it's possible or even likely that the OP (who is a hardware engineer) may actually be an outlier with that level of compensation.

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u/greenchase 9d ago

You’re significantly underestimating the number of highly comped engineers at these companies

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u/bobj33 9d ago

I'm also a hardware / semiconductor design engineer.

I'm a principal engineer with 24 years experience. RSUs and ESPP stock are 30% of my total compensation. The bonus last year was large and about 10%.

The federal and state government tax it as part of my yearly earnings so it seems like part of my yearly earnings to me too.

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u/OregonGrown34 9d ago

As a hardware PE with 24 years experience, I would venture to guess you're in the top 5% of compensated individuals who share your same job and responsibilities, right? Somehow this conversation got derailed into comparing all engineers at large companies. SWEs are more plentiful and tend to be more highly compensated at the top tech companies.

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u/bobj33 9d ago

I would not say that. My group has 10 other senior staff and principal engineers. I am the youngest principal engineer at 46 so I'm almost certain that the others are paid 10-20% more than I am.

At my last company the glassdoor info showed that I was actually 2% under the average salary for my position. I attribute that mainly to being one of the youngest senior staff engineers in the company at the time.

I work at a medium sized semiconductor company. If you are in the industry then you probably have heard of us. The general public has never heard of us.

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u/OregonGrown34 9d ago

Is your company full of senior staff and PEs, no low level engineers? Maybe I misused the word outlier and should have just stated that the compensation wasn't typical for HW engineers. I am in the industry at a very large semiconductor, so there's a reasonable chance I have heard of the company you work for.

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u/d4b3ss 9d ago

including RSUs in your yearly earning or salary is a bit deceiving

That is the norm on this subreddit and the cs subreddits though when discussing pay lol. If that’s standard operating procedure how is it deceiving?

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u/SordidCanary 9d ago

Because people in other professions don’t include non-money benefits like bonuses etc in their salary?

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u/AndySipherBull 9d ago

probably.

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u/OregonGrown34 9d ago

It's believable, but I still consider it an outlier. Typical HW engineer salary falls in the 80k-250k range (RCG --> PE). Changing jobs at the right time and getting a large number of RSUs that vest after a company's stock has run up could get into the 4-500k territory, but it's still not typical.

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u/atedja 9d ago

Makes me wonder if it's in USD or other currency.

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u/Ryanide1 9d ago

What hardware do you manage? I’m going into my freshman year of college and plan on majoring in Computer Engineering..am i on the right track to six figures?

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u/completefudd 9d ago

I've seen code written by hardware engineers. It's horrid.

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u/UnDosTresPescao 9d ago

So is code written by software engineers. At least the code written by the hardware engineers will be simple

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u/rachetheavenger FIRE 2038 9d ago

Sure, agreed. Any code I write is supposed to help me do my job only. It’s not a product that others should be using :-)

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u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 19h ago

Account closed.

please report this comment

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Rape kids

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Support cruelty and evil

Are against democracy

Are the gravest threat to America today

Are the new nazi party

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7

u/_TombPriest 9d ago

I'm deeply appreciative of the stem fields and I always worry they are underpaid.

Are you joking? STEM fields are overpaid if anything. Social workers, teachers, humanities fields are all severely underpaid and are just as critical.

Even in regards to grad stipends STEM gets substantially more funding and money than other fields. It's beyond aggravating, frankly. People shouldn't be punished for not wanting to be a math geek.

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u/Neirchill 9d ago

Those other fields being underpaid does not make stem overpaid. That just makes them underpaid. The people making several hundred thousand a year are probably overpaid, yes, but 99% of the field doesn't make nearly that much.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

A guy who owns a couple junk food franchises makes more than that, and they spend 90% of their time fucking off and collecting checks.

STEM should be the highest paying jobs on the planet bar none.

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u/DannyReddy 9d ago

They are highly paid because the schooling is extremely tough.

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u/_TombPriest 9d ago

So is any MA or PhD.

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u/DannyReddy 9d ago

Again a masters in teaching or humanities it not even comparable to an advanced stem degree. Me and my fiance are both engineers, civil and electrical. The amount of work we had to do was way more than friends who did easier degrees. You basically have no life for 4-5 years and depending on the job you get, it can be very stressful.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

We'll agree to disagree on that then.

If we want to talk about overpaid, I'm gonna say the most overpaid people are the ones who just sit back and own things while their workers do all the work.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

We'll agree to disagree on that then.

If we want to talk about overpaid, I'm gonna say the most overpaid people are the ones who just sit back and own things while their workers do all the work.

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u/Jisamaniac 9d ago

Good fo you mate. Keep it up!

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u/stayonthecloud 9d ago

Major congrats

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u/rachetheavenger FIRE 2038 9d ago

Thank you !

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u/Stren509 9d ago

Do you realize how obscenely ridiculous the pay for soft engineers in HCOL west is. I know its not uncommon in that industry but damn it does not exist anywhere else in the world. Not saying you don’t work hard. Its just crazy I am a Project engineer for large tier 1 automotive supply and make 76k. Moving overseas with the company soon hopefully I can use that to propel me a bit higher.

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u/Bits-N-Kibbles 9d ago

Chase perfection

I do not think this applies to every job/profession. I'm glad it worked for you. Know your value.

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u/_____l 9d ago

"Stay hungry and stay at the top" is terrible, gimmicky advice. That will set people up for failure.

"Stay realistic and set manageable goals" is better advice.

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u/rachetheavenger FIRE 2038 9d ago

Sure, idk if the advice helps anyone - I have no expertise there - I’m just describing my experience. Maybe it works for others - maybe it doesn’t - it’s really up to them.

From what I have seen -some people get into nice colleges and relax, or get a nice job and relax. My suggestion is don’t relax - keep pushing. Or don’t - do whatever makes you happy..

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u/Kwanzaa246 9d ago

Can you explain your career path starting with schooling?

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u/rachetheavenger FIRE 2038 9d ago

Sure, added

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u/wheezeburger 9d ago

What do got plan to do with all that money? What do you already do with it? Sounds like you might not have too much use for it.

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u/superfakesuperfake 9d ago

congrats my brother. I started real low and slow and now very high, but not quiet as high as you. you earned it~~!

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u/atozdadbot 9d ago

You have a very interesting way with words… that being said I appreciate your post!

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u/Puzzleheaded-Bug7690 9d ago

Chase perfection…. This.

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u/eyal8r 9d ago

Ok dumb question here- but EXACTLY does a hardware engineer do? Don’t give me the fluffy stuff that goes on a resume- what do you do day to day exactly? I’m very curious about this… thank you!

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u/micave 9d ago

This is the trick! Best comment here

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u/miztig2006 9d ago

Joe Biden

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u/Actify 9d ago

You make 450k a year and you left your family in a 3rd world country? Cool

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u/rachetheavenger FIRE 2038 9d ago

They visit but they are comfortable back home, they got a nice house and servants and I just gifted my dad a new car on his bday.

I can’t change immigration rules btw, and my parents don’t enjoy life here - they don’t have any friends or family here, can’t drive and have language problems. They are in 70s, they don’t wanna move. My siblings are set too, they have their lives and don’t wanna move either.