[TriLUG] Positions with Google in NC

[bak]

Magnus wrote:
> Aaron, thank you so much for your thoughtful contributions to this 
> thread.  I've personally found it very interesting to read, from both 
> sides.
>
> Just an unsolicited $0.02:
>
> Aaron S. Joyner wrote:
>> So, base salary isn't what one might typically expect.  And even from
>> the offer letter, it's sometimes hard to make an accurate assessment of
>> what the compensation package provided by Google really is.
>
> Bang.  Right there you've got a big red flag for geeks that are 
> further along in their careers... maybe someone like me who is 
> supporting a wife & three kids.  Guys like me would much rather have a 
> "sure thing" that may or may not be less than an income that can vary 
> widely depending on how your own performance is perceived, how the 
> company performance is measured by the bean counters, and how the 
> compensation plan itself is inevitably going to be restructured as the 
> company matures.
>
> A lot of us got burned, badly, during the heady dot-com years when so 
> much of our compensation was based off of company performance, stock 
> options, and so on.  These days, it is a lot more attractive to be 
> able to bank on getting $X per paycheck rather than a substantially 
> lower number with *potential* for a balloon payment annually of 
> unknown value.
>
> These flexible compensation packages are probably more attractive to 
> people right out of school, dual income families, single adults, or 
> childless couples.  I do think that this sort of package would tend to 
> repel breadwinners from single income families or families with a 
> number of children.
I have to concur with Magnus here.  The job I had as an SA before this 
one regularly came with a "base" bonus of 20%.  I always made at least 
that.  Why did I hate getting a bonus, then?  Because when you accept it 
in lieu of being paid a salary -- as deferred compensation, or 
what-have-you -- it is no longer a bonus.  It's if-we-feel-like-it 
salary on the part of management.  If they take it away -- and they 
won't hesitate to do so, if they really need to -- boom, you're suddenly 
working for WAY below market rate for your skills, and good luck 
convincing your next company that you're worth (your salary) * 
(1.bonus).  Will this happen at Google?  Damned if I know -- and that's 
the point.  But this is just a feeling on my part, based on my 
experience; Aaron obviously feels that it was well worth the risk, and I 
certainly can't say he was wrong.

So: I did not consider bonuses as a numerical part of my salary at the 
jobs I was considering in 2006, as all the companies I had an interest 
in were "large" (more than a couple thousand) and publicly traded.  I 
might consider it for a small, flat company where I had a distinct and 
measurable influence as an employee. 

Guess what I heard?  No bonus for IT in 2006 at my old company.  I hated 
to be proved right for the sake of my ex-co-workers.  Perhaps working 
there had this cynical influence on my attitude which you all in TriLUG 
land are probably contrasting with Aaron's at this very moment.

Aaron, you made a bunch of other interesting  and valid points which I 
will respond to at some point in the near future.  Any other almost-was 
Googlers on the list?  I'm getting quite curious, now.