Each part of the pay
- Base salary. The one part that is certain. Raises are usually a percentage of it, so it compounds.
- Bonus. Usually a target percentage of base. Ask how much of the target people actually got last year; a bonus tied to company results can come in under it.
- Signing bonus. All in the first year, and often owed back if you leave within a year. It makes year one look better than the years after.
- Equity. Divide the grant's value by its vesting years (four is common, often with a one-year cliff before anything vests). At a public company the value is the share price. At a private company it is a guess: the shares may be worth far more, or nothing, and you may not be able to sell them for years.
- 401(k) match. A match of 50% up to 6% of salary is worth 3% of base a year if you put in 6%. Check how long the match takes to vest.
First year and average year
Add the parts two ways. The first year includes the whole signing bonus and whatever equity vests in year one (often nothing before the cliff). The average year spreads the grant evenly and leaves the signing bonus out, or spreads it over the years you expect to stay. An offer that wins the first year on a big signing bonus can lose every year after.
What the totals leave out
- Health insurance. What you pay in premiums and the deductible can differ by thousands a year between employers.
- Time off, parental leave and other benefits.
- Where and how you work. A commute costs money and hours; remote work can mean a pay band set for where you live.
- Taxes and cost of living, when the offers are in different states or cities.
- Growth. The team, the manager, what you will learn and how the company is doing.
Check each offer against the market
Many US job postings now state a pay range. Compare each base with what open postings for the same work in the same place state they pay, to see whether an offer is low, middle or high, and use that if you negotiate. The salary pages and salary lookup give those ranges by role and metro.
