How much do tech professionals make at Microsoft, and how can ascending the company’s ranks impact your pay? A new leak gives us a better idea of the salary, bonus, and stock options you can earn at one of tech’s biggest giants.

Business Insider recently got its hands on Microsoft’s pay guidelines, current as of early 2023. “It's unclear how broadly the guidelines apply, or whether they are just for one specific role or business, but the ranges provide a window into how Microsoft thinks about its various level designations,” is how the publication framed the find. Microsoft declined comment.

As you can tell from the pay, tiers 52 through 62 are generally more junior roles; levels 63 and above offer more senior-level pay and stock awards. While these numbers (if accurate) provide some pretty good guidelines for what Microsoft is willing to pay technology professionals, keep in mind that “hot” and highly specialized skills such as artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine learning can potentially enable hiring managers to stretch their budget limits with a promising candidate.

Now let’s compare these Business Insider numbers to Microsoft software engineer salary data crowdsourced via levels.fyi. Remember that crowdsourcing isn’t always the most scientific way of determining pay, because it hinges mightily on sample size and quality; however, levels.fyi’s data is generally regarded as sound by reputable publications and analysts, so we feel comfortable using it in this context:

If anything, this crowdsourced compensation data is at the upper range of Business Insider’s guidelines. That could suggest many things, including that software developers and engineers at Microsoft make more than other employees clustered in their respective “tiers.” There may also be some self-selection bias—perhaps those employees inclined to mention their salary and stock options on a crowdsourced compensation site make more than their colleagues.

In any case, these numbers confirm that Microsoft, like the other tech giants, is more than happy to pay its tech professionals and other employees quite a bit. If you manage to climb the company’s ranks, you’ll also unlock some pretty sweet stock awards—which is a big reason to consider applying to a giant tech company.