The pay at big tech can be ... pretty big.
In a recent filing, Google parent Alphabet revealed that the median compensation for its employees is at nearly $200,000 a year. That speaks to how tough the competition is for top engineering talent.
But a cushy salary isn't guaranteed everywhere. At Amazon, where jobs include bookstore clerks and warehouse workers, the median salary is only $28,446, a recent filing shows.
This is the first year publicly traded companies are required to reveal the median compensation for their employees and how that compares to their CEOs.
The first public filings with those figures are now available. Here's how some of the biggest tech firms stack up.
Alphabet (Google)
Median compensation: $197,274
CEO Larry Page's pay: $1
Note: It's not uncommon for high-profile CEOs with hefty net worths to take home very little money. Page, for example, is worth an estimated $51.2 billion thanks in part to his massive stake in Alphabet (GOOG), which is Google's parent company.
(Figures according to an April 27 public filing.)
Tesla
Median compensation: $54,816
CEO Elon Musk's pay: $49,920
Note: Salaries at this electric car manufacturer differ widely depending on employees' roles, according to data from Glassdoor. A service technician, for example, can make around $55,000, while senior engineers can earn over $100,000. We wrote about Musk's compensation here and here.
(Figures according to an April 26 public filing.)
Salesforce
Median compensation: $155,284
CEO Marc Benioff's pay: $4,653,362
(Figures according to an April 20 public filing.)
Facebook
Median compensation: $240,430
CEO Mark Zuckerberg's pay: $8,852,366
Note: Zuckerberg's base pay was just $1, but Faceboo (FB)spent nearly $9 million on his security and private planes. Business Insider reported earlier this year that rank-and-file employees don't negotiate their salaries to ensure fairness. Glassdoor recently named Facebook 2018's best place to work.
(Figures according to an April 13 public filing.)
Intel
Median compensation: $102,100
CEO Brian Krzanich's pay: $21,544,700
(Figures according to an April 5 public filing.)
IBM
Median compensation: $54,491
CEO Ginni Rometty: $18,595,350
(Figures according to a March 12 public filing.)
Amazon
Median compensation: $28,446
CEO Jeff Bezos's pay: $1,681,840
Note: Unlike some other tech giants, Amazon has fulfillment centers all over the world. Many workers manage inventory and don't make the hefty salaries that engineers command with their coding skills.
(Figures according to an April 18 public filing.)
