What Does Salary Mean in Tech Careers and How Do You Compare Offers?

Updated

In a tech career, "salary" usually means your base salary — the fixed cash amount paid per year before bonus and equity. But when people compare offers, they almost always mean total compensation (TC): base + annual bonus + equity (RSUs/options) + signing bonus + benefits, normalized to a yearly figure. Use base salary when you care about predictable cash flow (rent, loans, visa income thresholds); use TC when you're comparing the real value of two offers. The rest of this explains how to break down each piece and compare offers fairly.

The components of a tech offer

Component What it is How it's usually quoted Key risk
Base salary Fixed cash per year Annual figure Rarely changes; sets your baseline
Annual bonus Performance-linked cash % of base (e.g., target %) Often paid at less than target
Equity RSUs (public) or options (private) Dollar value or share count Vesting schedule, price at grant vs. sale
Signing bonus One-time cash Flat amount May need to be repaid if you leave early
Benefits Health, 401(k) match, etc. Not always itemized Real value but hard to compare

Base salary

The number recruiters quote first. It's the most comparable figure across companies and the one that affects things like mortgage approval and, in some countries, visa salary thresholds. If your priority is stability, weight base heavily.

Bonus

Usually expressed as a target percentage of base. Ask whether it's been paid at target historically, and whether it's discretionary. A "20% target bonus" that pays 10% is worth half of what it looks like.

Equity

This is where offers diverge most.

  • Public companies (RSUs): quoted as a dollar value that vests over ~4 years. The value at vest depends on the stock price, so the quoted number is an estimate.
  • Private companies (options): quoted as a number of shares at a strike price. The value is uncertain until a liquidity event, and you may have to pay to exercise. Treat this as high-risk, not as cash.

Signing bonus and benefits

Signing bonuses are one-time and sometimes clawed back if you leave within a year. Benefits (401(k) match, health premiums, stipends) have real value but are rarely included in the headline TC number — add them back in when comparing.

Salary vs. total compensation

  • Salary (base): predictable, comparable, safe.
  • Total compensation: the full package, but mixes guaranteed and at-risk money.

A simple way to compare: build a table with columns for base, target bonus, annualized equity, signing bonus ÷ years, and estimated benefit value. Sum the last four onto base to get an annualized TC. Then ask which parts are guaranteed vs. contingent.

Comparing offers across levels, location, and cost of living

  1. Match levels first. A "senior" at one company may map to "mid-level" at another. Compare offers at equivalent scope, not equivalent titles.
  2. Adjust for location. A $200k offer in a high-cost city is not the same as $200k remote in a low-cost area. Use a cost-of-living index to see the real difference, but don't over-trust it — remote pay is often location-adjusted by the employer anyway.
  3. Normalize equity. For RSUs, divide the total grant by the vesting period to get an annual figure. For options, discount heavily for uncertainty.
  4. Check the vesting cliff. Many schedules have a 1-year cliff (nothing vests until you hit one year), then monthly or quarterly vesting. A big grant you'd forfeit by leaving early isn't fully yours.

Using anonymous community data (e.g., Blind) as a reference

Blind is an anonymous professional community where people discuss compensation, offers, and workplace dynamics. Its value for salary research:

  • Crowd-sourced data points on offers and levels that you won't find in official sources.
  • Context on negotiation outcomes and how companies treat equity.

Its limits:

  • Unverified. Anyone can post any number. Treat individual claims as anecdotes, not facts.
  • Selection bias. People with unusually high or low offers are more likely to post.
  • No pricing or access details are stated on the site itself, so don't assume any specific tool or data set is free or gated — check before relying on it.

Use it to sanity-check a range, not to set your expectations as fact.

Red flags and questions to ask before accepting

  • "Competitive salary" with no number — ask for the base and the target bonus separately.
  • Equity quoted as a percentage or share count with no valuation — ask for the current 409A or share price and the total outstanding shares.
  • Bonus described as "up to X%" — ask what it's actually paid at, on average.
  • Vague vesting — get the schedule in writing: cliff length, vest frequency, and whether there's a refresh grant.
  • Signing bonus with a clawback — ask the repayment terms and the time window.
  • Level not stated — ask what level the offer maps to and what the band is.

Questions worth asking: What's the base? What's the target bonus and historical payout? What's the equity value, vesting schedule, and refresh policy? Is the signing bonus clawed back? What benefits have cash value? What level is this, and what's the range for that level?

Once you have those answers, put them in the comparison table above and decide based on guaranteed cash, at-risk upside, and how much uncertainty you're willing to accept.