How Silicon Valley Professionals Use Their Bonuses

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Silicon Valley is known for its lofty compensation packages.  However, base salaries are often only a tip of an iceberg: apart from base salaries, compensation packages may also include cash bonuses, stock options, and other benefits. Have you ever wondered how silicon valley professionals use their bonuses?

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Q4 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

A Google professional asked the Blind platform “What are you doing with your bonus?”

How Silicon Valley Professionals Plan To Use Their Bonuses

Key Learnings from ~1,400 professionals:

  • 67% of professionals are investing their bonuses
    • 75% of Google professionals are investing their bonuses
    • 74% of Uber professionals are investing their bonuses
    • 77% of Twitter professionals are investing their bonuses
  • 21% of professionals are saving their bonuses
    • 27% of Microsoft professionals are saving their bonuses
    • 35% of Goldman Sachs professionals are saving their bonuses
    • 36% of Intuit professionals are saving their bonuses
  • 8% of professionals are making a big purchase with their bonuses
    • 13% of Apple professionals are making a big purchase with their bonuses
    • 29% of VMWare professionals are making a big purchase with their bonuses
    • 17% of Capital One professionals are making a big purchase with their bonuses
  • 4% of professionals are donating their bonuses
    • 11% of Cisco professionals are donating their bonuses
    • 9% of SAP professionals are donating their bonuses

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Professionals Share Their Experience

A Facebook professional shared “Buying a custom built bike. My bonus is for big purchases. The rest of my income goes to my future.”

A user at SpaceX responded “What bonus lol”

Another user shared they will be using their bonus to buy an engagement ring!

A different Google user said “Pay off my credit cards”

IT workers can get anywhere from 40% to 200% on top of their base salaries, according to Levels.fyi. The higher the employee’s level is, the higher the bonuses. It looks like there are a variety of ways professionals plan on spending their bonuses this year.