Ask HN: What are market rates for "Good salary, good benefits and good equity"?

[simonsarris]

More to the point, how does a developer meaningfully evaluate such a phrase?

Even more importantly, and I wish I made this the title: How do you determine if any particular offer is fair or even good, in the absence of a lot of offers?

This is inspired by the Teespring (YC 13) ad on the front page right now that states, "Good salary, good benefits and good equity."

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5545443

[droopyEyelids]

It means you're going to get the equivalent of delta dental, bcbs, 'unlimited vacation days' and some sort of snacks in the office, limited 401k matching, and around 100k.

Don't expect the real 'good benefits' where you get a company-paid flex benefits card and if you thought you might see a pension you should have a laugh and go outside & take a walk.

[gee_totes → droopyEyelids]

+1 for the 401k matching, for me it's a big factor in choosing who I work for

[1123581321]

You simply calculate the equivalent cash value of the benefits and the equity and add them to salary. Then, you adjust the individual benefits upwards by a coefficient if you want them and can't get them elsewhere, and downwards if you don't want them as much as they're worth. For example, if my child had rare cancer, I would place a premium on having an unusually superb group insurance policy, even if the company didn't match much of the premium. On the other hand, I might count gym comp as $0 instead of $600/year if I am find with my home workout, or count free drinks as only worth a couple hundred a year if I would have been fine with water otherwise.

[johnvschmitt]

"Good" = competitive in a fair market.

If it's an established company, you can/should use salary.com for ballparks on what is competitive.

If it's a startup, they are often preserving the small capital they have (cash poor), so you're looking at "Ramen" salaries (~$50k) or no salary at all, and bigger chunks of equity. (That equity will be worth zero or something based on your work & your small team's work, & luck.)

But, the best benefit is to make your living expenses while learning & saving a bit. The learning part is what most people forget about when picking a job.

[TheCoelacanth]

I just assume that the phrase is completely meaningless. I've never seen a company that didn't claim to have good salary and good benefits.

[moocow01]

It means nothing. An employers perception of good will be different than your version of good.

The usage is essentially an employer trying to set an early anchor for bargaining that is blessed as "good" by both parties.

[bitlather1]

glassdoor.com is a good place to find salaries for established companies and positions in your field. Every company will think "good salary" is different so you just have to figure that out while interviewing.

[gtbcb]

Salar.ly is good in that it shows actual salary data of foreign workers since this info is required to be reported by law.