This is a little more nuanced. A lot of that pay is in risky stock that may or may not turn out to be worthless when it vests. Itβs also a very limited number of engineers in the grand scheme.
I dont think FAANG stock is that risky. And the fact that it's just a limited number of people making these wages emphasizes that it's a wealth inequality problem. I'm not sure how that would be a counteargument.
Look at Facebook's stock (FB symbol) the past year. Between February 2nd and 3rd of this year it fell from $323 to $237.76.
> And the fact that it's just a limited number of people making these wages emphasizes that it's a wealth inequality problem. I'm not sure how that would be a counteargument.
I think it _is_ a counterargument because a comparison between average software engineer pay and average frontline worker pay probably looks like you'd expect as far as market forces are concerned.
It's only when you move on from averages and start to focus on outliers where it looks like "problem." I would definitely consider FAANG engineers who make $300,000+ per year outliers.
