And, if you're working at a non-startup and getting $250-$300K, you are very, very lucky. That's far, far outside the realm of what I would consider believable, even in Silicon Valley. I may be a grossly underpaid sucker, but in my 15+ years of experience I've never seen even close to that. Jeez!

I have some first hand proof that google pays not-all-that-senior engineers that kind of money and more.

So if you're good then you may consider moving to one of the bigger players for a substantial increase in pay.

I can confirm this as well. I'm about 1 year out of college and just got a Google offer (salary + bonus + stock) that averages ~$240k per year.

Wow, Jesus. I think I'm going to delete the work history section from my resume and start looking around--I could double my salary.

Yep. I'll take my 10% ;)

Best of luck! And I really hope that works out for you.

How much of that was the base pay? I received a Google offer as well a couple of years ago, with a very concrete salary and a very handwavy "and there are bonuses and stock". Did your offer actually spell out how much the bonuses and stock were worth, or did you only find that out once you accepted the offer?

Haven't accepted yet (deciding between Google and a "hot" late-stage startup). The rough breakdown is $115k salary with 15% bonus if I "meet expectations" (presumably more if I "exceed expectations") + about ~$400k in stock over four years. Add in a sign-on bonus and we reach the $240k average.