# Trimodal Nature of Tech Compensation in the US, UK and India  ## Metadata - Author: [[Gergely Orosz]] - Full Title: Trimodal Nature of Tech Compensation in the US, UK and India - Category: #articles - Published: 2025-03-05 - Document Tags: #career #finance #technology #trends - Source: reader - Last Highlighted: 2025-03-05 21:07:41.650463+00:00 - URL: https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/trimodal ## Summary Deepdive into the distribution of software engineering compensation, based on more than 20,000 data points from Levels.fyi ## Highlights - **Private scaleups issue not-yet-liquid equity.** Many assume Big Tech companies offer the most, compensation-wise. And this *is* true in terms of liquid equity; shares that can be sold for cash is an area where Big Tech is near-impossible for scaleups to match. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jnm25e0528f3pmrcqzp44xvj)) - Tags: #👻 ai highlighted - However, top-tier startups and scaleups can – and do – offer more *total* compensation than Big Tech. But there’s a catch: their equity cannot be sold until a liquidity event happens like an IPO, or stock buyback. Scaleups which out-offer Big Tech in total comp include [Databricks](https://www.levels.fyi/companies/databricks/salaries) and [OpenAI](https://www.levels.fyi/companies/openai/salaries). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jnm25e0wag0xgdpwyz7t90zp)) - Tags: #👻 ai highlighted - **Tiers 2 and 3 overlap a lot.** The only real difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3 is that there are much more Big Tech data points in the sample. This could indicate a bias in user submissions towards Big Tech, or that scaleups and hedge funds hire far fewer entry-level engineers in the US ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jnm25e1rye871ts15kvgme18)) - Tags: #👻 ai highlighted