Google is a dream employer for many technologists, and it’s not just because of the high salaries or the plentiful in-office amenities. The search-engine giant offers the chance to work on cutting-edge projects that can potentially touch the lives of billions of people—more than sufficient reason for many technologists to apply for open positions.
But how much do entry-level roles at Google actually pay? For an answer, we can turn to levels.fyi, which crowdsources compensation data from multiple technology companies. No, crowdsourcing isn’t always the most scientific way of determining salaries—however, the levels.fyi compensation ranges generally tend to align with those presented by other sources, such as Glassdoor.
For the purposes of this study, we looked at entry-level software engineers, associate product managers, designers, managers, and data scientists. Here are the results:
As you might expect, Google’s entry-level compensation is competitive with other tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft. It’s also superior to what you might find at many smaller companies with more limited budgets. In exchange for that level of compensation, Google generally expects its technologists to deliver superior results—especially these days, as the company is retrenching around a more “entrepreneurial” spirit.
In August, Google CEO Sundar Pichai launched a new initiative, dubbed “Simplicity Sprint,” to boost the company’s efficiency and focus. “It’s clear we are facing a challenging macro environment with more uncertainty ahead,” he told employees during an all-hands meeting last week, according to CNBC. “There are real concerns that our productivity as a whole is not where it needs to be for the head count we have.”
In theory, this initiative will make Google “more mission-focused, more focused on our products, more customer focused.” The company is also revamping its internal performance review system to give employees a better shot at advancement and career development. If you’re curious about Google’s interview process, the company offers a breakdown of that—be prepared for a rigorous process with a number of technical evaluations.
