zlacker

>>zuhaye+(OP)
Based on what I've seen/heard, they seem to follow a similar comp philosophy to Netflix -- pay top of market to get the best people.

But it's also important to note that only $300K of that is in cash. The other $600K is in profit participation, which could take years (maybe even a decade!) to be realized. It could also be worth $6M a year when it's realized.

But ultimately it's an investment of your time. Or to think of it another way, you're getting paid $900K a year but you're also investing $600K a year in OpenAI, which may end up being an amazing return or nothing at all, just like any startup investment.

Although with Sam at the helm, my guess is it will probably be worth more than $600K a year.

>>jedber+l7
Honestly, if you take 300k home, the risk isn't that high. But the reward is insane.

>>jocaal+uc
That person could probably be making 500k+ at a FANG with less variance in the stock component.

>>QIYGT+Wg
I read this here and there and don't doubt it, but then again I've never seen/met anyone IRL (outside of C-level) making this much money as an employee.

Are they just extremely rare cases or am I just not aware of the valley and their customs?

>>morale+Nu
No this is not rare at all. Meta offers E5 ("senior" level) new hires a 400-500k total package in the US (given that you negotiate, I know the levels.fyi numbers are a bit lower), and this isn't some exception. If your performance is good and/or stock appreciation happens, then that number goes even higher.

I'm a very average engineer (probably way below average amongst the HN crowd) and I'm in that range.