The other commenters, are, not to put too fine a point on it, being stupid.

Google will generally pay more for the same skillset over the same duration under the same market conditions than NVIDIA.

The catch is that it’s much harder to get into Google. I’ve worked at both companies, it’s not even close.

The difference in pay isn’t that stark until the staff levels, though.

Up to senior level roles it’s basically a wash, *maybe* like 5% more for Google, but once you hit Staff level roles (which every company calls something different but treats the same), the difference grows. I’d say you’re looking at a 20% difference at Staff and even more at Principal roles. You’re not walking away with $1M a year at NVIDIA as an IC outside of like 3 people, but Google has many such very senior people.

And people who base their future on stock prices going up, like NVIDIA’s has, are cute. For every company that this happens to, there’s another where the stock stagnated and you get screwed. Just play the average. It’s better for your sanity.

And to the people crying about “downleveling”, it’s because being a Staff engineer at WidgetsRUs isn’t the same as being a Staff engineer at scale. You don’t have that skillset unless you can demonstrate that you owned that skill. It’s not that hard of a concept, unless you’re in denial.