Question about salary transparency in tech

I was looking at a report from a site called Levels.fyi last week and saw that the average base pay for a senior software engineer at a big company in Seattle is over $200,000. I had no idea the gap was that big compared to my current role at a smaller firm. It really made me rethink how much I'm undervaluing my own skills. How do you even start a conversation about a raise when the numbers are that different?

3 comments

3 Comments

black.val13d ago

Yeah, seeing that "average base pay" number would change anyone's mind. I used to think those big tech salaries were just for a few special people, not the actual average. That gap is wild.

ben_nguyen13d ago

Hold up, that average is super misleading though. It gets pumped up by a handful of massive payouts for top roles, so most people aren't actually hitting that number. The real middle point is way lower.

oliver28d ago

Totally get what you mean about that gap being wild. I was in the same boat until I started looking at salary info for specific job levels on sites like levels.fyi. It breaks it down by software engineer two or three, not just "tech worker". That showed me the real range for normal roles, not just the crazy director pay. Made the whole thing feel way more possible to actually reach.