dsswe in  
Software Engineer  

Poll

Are remote roles really gone in big tech? Should I just stay put?

I am a senior SWE who has been hybrid since 2015 and fully remote since 2020. My 60 person startup doesn't even have office space anywhere. I make $180k base with 12 basis points equity on $350M valuation, 80% vested in 6 months (hitting the 4 year mark, but got more equity since hire).

My TC will likely go down in 6 months after the equity I negotiated at hire fully vests. This makes me want to job search, but this site has me concerned that I'm going to get stuck having to go back into an office if I want a raise.

I absolutely despise having to work in an office and resent people who act like it's NBD. Between the time and effort spent commuting and constant interruptions in the office I am certainly less productive. Not to mention how difficult it is to quantify less time spent with my kids.

Should I just stay put? Is it worth months of LC to find out I can only get a 10% raise working at some other startup or can I get +30% more and still stay remote? There are big tech jobs in the area, but I think I would want nearly $300k to go into an office.

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ramenenjoyerSoftware Engineer  
There are definitely still fully remote roles out there, the issue is that as they get more scarce the demand for them will only increase. From what I've been seeing personally, it seems that situations like yours where you're at a startup that just doesn't have an office at all are probably the best option for truly remote work for the time being. There are companies like Spotify, Airbnb, Coinbase, and some other big names that are remote-first where you might be able to make your desired >30% increase, but it'd likely be a bit difficult to get those roles. IMO, it sounds like you're in a position where you're pretty comfortable at your role so it could be a good idea to just brush up your resume and LC skills a little and start applying to places just to see what's out there.
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55oo55WATechnical Program Manager  
Yeah look for remote-first companies and apply there first, but if no luck, then I say don't sacrifice WFH if you value it that much. Try to quantify how much money you'd have to be offered to be okay with going in office and, if you don't get that, then don't go. For me, I can live NICELY off $180k and $220k is a big bump, but not so big that I'd sacrifice WFH at all.
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