Swingy Compensation

While Big Tech compensation packages can be extremely lucrative, they are also highly volatile. Much of the reward is tied to company stock, which fluctuates dramatically and is largely outside any individual engineer’s control. Here are the core points from the lesson:

• Equity Makes Up the Majority of Pay at Senior Levels - Compensation often includes base salary, a bonus, and a large portion in restricted stock units (RSUs), especially as engineers become more senior.
• Stock Price Volatility Can Be Emotionally Draining - Engineers may become fixated on stock movements - checking daily gains or losses that can translate to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in value swings.
• Lack of Control Over Equity Value - Company-wide factors like earnings calls or buyback announcements - rather than individual performance—drive major stock movements. A 26% drop in Meta's stock once erased $250 billion in market cap overnight.
• Advice: Sell Regularly, Avoid Emotional Attachment - Diversification and emotional detachment are key. Holding too much company stock creates psychological and financial vulnerability, especially in market downturns.
• Stock-Based Wealth Is Largely Unpredictable - Stock spikes and crashes often follow unexpected logic, making it nearly impossible for individual employees to anticipate or influence outcomes.