<story><title>I&apos;m a Data Scientist and It&apos;s Not My Passion</title><url>https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/six-figure-paycheck-data-scientist-nyc</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>TuringNYC</author><text>It really doesnt matter whether the startup gives you 4500, 1500, or 45000, or a million. You are being given the numerator without knowing the denominator, so it is all worth zero until you get to see the Cap Table. Most startups wont let you see the Cap Table.&lt;p&gt;Even if you saw the Cap Table, there is still a lot of uncertainty, tons of illiquidity, and a long horizon.&lt;p&gt;Options are nice, but they are not cash and do not belong in the same conversation as salary.</text></item><item><author>ilikehurdles</author><text>Yes, it’s 4500 stock options worth $0 each. Pretty generous. Other startups of that size are lucky to get you 1500 stock options at $0 each.</text></item><item><author>asaph</author><text>Is there an equity component in addition to the base salary?</text></item><item><author>paxys</author><text>&amp;gt; I am now working at a tech startup&lt;p&gt;This would explain the salary</text></item><item><author>minimaxir</author><text>Link to original post: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.refinery29.com&amp;#x2F;en-us&amp;#x2F;six-figure-paycheck-data-scientist-nyc&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.refinery29.com&amp;#x2F;en-us&amp;#x2F;six-figure-paycheck-data-sc...&lt;/a&gt; (Edit: URL fixed)&lt;p&gt;The real question is that $125k as a &lt;i&gt;Senior&lt;/i&gt; Data Analyst in NYC seems low.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; I have this creative side, which comes in handy when thinking through challenging problems, but there is only so much creativity that I can use when in data analysis.&lt;p&gt;This I disagree with; in data analysis&amp;#x2F;science, there&amp;#x27;s more than way to highlight&amp;#x2F;analyze a problem, and more than one way to solve it. In my experience, the best solutions are often the craziest.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>askafriend</author><text>&amp;gt; You are being given the numerator without knowing the denominator, so it is all worth zero until you get to see the Cap Table. Most startups wont let you see the Cap Table.&lt;p&gt;Every single time I&amp;#x27;ve accepted a job at a startup that offered ISO stock options, I knew # of shares outstanding (the denominator), terms of all funding rounds, strike price, exit strategy, total amount of money raised, who the major investors are on the cap table, etc.&lt;p&gt;The jobs were at startups funded by the best investors in the world and high caliber founders who valued transparency. One went on to become a unicorn, and the other is an extremely early seed stage company where I work now.&lt;p&gt;If a startup isn&amp;#x27;t willing to give you information beyond # of options granted, then that is a red flag in my book. Not all startups are like that.</text></comment>
<story><title>I&apos;m a Data Scientist and It&apos;s Not My Passion</title><url>https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/six-figure-paycheck-data-scientist-nyc</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>TuringNYC</author><text>It really doesnt matter whether the startup gives you 4500, 1500, or 45000, or a million. You are being given the numerator without knowing the denominator, so it is all worth zero until you get to see the Cap Table. Most startups wont let you see the Cap Table.&lt;p&gt;Even if you saw the Cap Table, there is still a lot of uncertainty, tons of illiquidity, and a long horizon.&lt;p&gt;Options are nice, but they are not cash and do not belong in the same conversation as salary.</text></item><item><author>ilikehurdles</author><text>Yes, it’s 4500 stock options worth $0 each. Pretty generous. Other startups of that size are lucky to get you 1500 stock options at $0 each.</text></item><item><author>asaph</author><text>Is there an equity component in addition to the base salary?</text></item><item><author>paxys</author><text>&amp;gt; I am now working at a tech startup&lt;p&gt;This would explain the salary</text></item><item><author>minimaxir</author><text>Link to original post: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.refinery29.com&amp;#x2F;en-us&amp;#x2F;six-figure-paycheck-data-scientist-nyc&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.refinery29.com&amp;#x2F;en-us&amp;#x2F;six-figure-paycheck-data-sc...&lt;/a&gt; (Edit: URL fixed)&lt;p&gt;The real question is that $125k as a &lt;i&gt;Senior&lt;/i&gt; Data Analyst in NYC seems low.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; I have this creative side, which comes in handy when thinking through challenging problems, but there is only so much creativity that I can use when in data analysis.&lt;p&gt;This I disagree with; in data analysis&amp;#x2F;science, there&amp;#x27;s more than way to highlight&amp;#x2F;analyze a problem, and more than one way to solve it. In my experience, the best solutions are often the craziest.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>asaph</author><text>Certainly startup equity is a) a risk and b) sometimes hard to quantify in real dollar terms. But if the startup is successful, equity value is very real and should not be ignored or swept aside. My advice: Don&amp;#x27;t join a startup unless you believe in its growth potential and your compensation package includes equity. Without the equity and the potential that comes with it, there is little reason to join a startup. You might as well just go with an established company instead.</text></comment>