Wednesday, June 18,2008 @ 12:00pm
Apple restraining engineer salaries?
The salaries of Apple engineers are comparatively restrained next to those for other Silicon Valley companies, data from the survey site Glassdoor suggests. Apple's engineers are said to make approximately $89,000 per year, whereas similar jobs at Microsoft and Yahoo are believed to pay about $105,000. Some of the most extravagant salaries are present at Google, where an engineer can make as much as $112,573.
Based on Apple financial reports it is believed that the salaries may be a relic from earlier in the decade, before the advent of PC-compatible iPods that helped rapidly inflate Apple profits. In 2003, had the company had paid its engineers the same amount received by Google workers today, Apple could have entered into a net loss. By comparison, Apple might have saved only 6 percent through lower salaries in 2007. These figures do not account for material R&D expenses, however, or possible tax write-offs.