Tech Advisor Match

Tech Total-Comp Calculator

The number in your offer letter is "total comp" at current stock price. Your actual 4-year earnings depend on the stock price over those years. This calculator projects three scenarios: flat, up 50%, and down 50%.

What this tells you (and what it doesn't)

The flat-stock scenario is your expected comp if the market goes sideways — rarely realistic over 4 years, but a useful baseline. The -50% scenario is important for planning: if your employer stock halves, will you still hit your savings goals? Tech workers routinely ignore this because it feels like it won't happen. In 2022 it happened to everyone.

What this calculator doesn't capture:
  • Refreshers. Most companies issue new RSU grants every year at promotion or as a retention mechanism. After 2–3 years, your total vesting RSU value in a given year is typically the sum of multiple grants.
  • Tax drag. RSU vesting is taxable as ordinary income. See RSU tax calculator for the real after-tax math.
  • Sell-at-vest vs hold. Default is to hold (most tech workers do). A specialist advisor usually recommends sell-at-vest to avoid concentration risk.
  • 401(k) match, ESPP, Mega Backdoor Roth. Separate bucket; meaningful if used right.

A real example

Senior engineer at a public tech co: $220K base, 15% target bonus, $900K RSU grant over 4 years (monthly vest, no cliff), expected 4% annual raise. Flat scenario: ~$1.35M total over 4 years. If stock goes up 50%: ~$1.81M. If down 50%: ~$898K. That's a $900K spread based on something you don't control. Plan your savings rate around the down case; treat the upside as bonus.

Related reading

Get a real plan built around your comp

A tech-specialist advisor will model your full picture including taxes, savings rate, equity concentration risk, and alternative scenarios (job change, layoff, stock decline). Free match, no obligation.