Former software engineer Frank Niu spoke in an interview with Business Insider about how salaries for IT professionals can differ widely from one company to another, with sometimes lower-prestige firms offering higher pay than famous brands.
Niu began his career at IBM as a software engineer earning $74,000 per year, plus a $5,000 signing bonus when he joined the team. The early years showed a mix of base pay and incentives that varied by organization and role.
He left IBM, in part because the scale of the company created slow, bureaucratic processes, and in part because the recognition he received did not translate into compensation. He felt his earnings did not reflect his value to the business, so he chose to move on.
After leaving IBM, Niu relocated to San Francisco and joined a small startup named Dwolla as a DevOps engineer. The position carried a salary of $125,000 plus stock options, a structure common for early-stage tech firms with competitive equity components.
Even though the work pace was more manageable and the processes less burdensome, the higher cost of living in San Francisco narrowed the financial advantage. The opportunity to learn and contribute was appealing, yet the startup faced financial instability, warning signs that cash flow and stability can lag behind ambitious product goals.
Subsequently, Niu moved to the crypto-focused company Credit Karma as a senior software engineer with a $138,000 salary. He notes that his tenure lasted about a year and a half, coinciding with the cryptocurrency market surge that began in 2017, which influenced hiring trends and compensation dynamics.
Seeking more accessible living options, he and his partner eventually settled in Chicago. There, Niu joined Grubhub as a site reliability engineer, receiving a $140,000 bonus along with stock options and restricted shares. The compensation package reflected the rapid growth in certain tech roles and the value placed on stability engineering during a period of expansion for the company.
That period proved lucrative as stocks rose sharply, contributing to a total annual compensation surpassing $300,000. The combination of base pay, bonuses, and equity created a peak in earnings that highlighted the potential financial upside of working for thriving tech firms in the region.
Later, Niu accepted a position at Netflix as a senior site reliability engineer, achieving a total annual compensation near $525,000 when bonuses and promotions are included. During that chapter, he and his partner prioritized saving and investing a substantial portion of their income, illustrating a strategic approach to wealth-building within high-earning tech roles.
In another lens on the tech leadership scene, Brad Margist, a 31-year-old chief technology officer at a firm focused on IT solutions, emphasizes personal wellness as a factor in high-performance careers. He shares a daily routine that includes an early ice plunge as a method to manage stress and maintain focus, underscoring the human side behind demanding tech roles.