Compensation and Expectations Questions

Prepare to discuss compensation and related expectations in a thoughtful way. Understand your salary requirements, target total compensation mix including base, bonus, equity, and benefits, and where you are willing to be flexible. Ask employers about compensation bands, bonus and equity practices, benefits, relocation or signing packages, performance review cadence for raises, and other material elements of the offer. Be ready to explain how your level of hands on work versus leadership responsibilities maps to compensation expectations and discuss timing for formal offers and negotiations. Use these questions to align on mutual fit while avoiding premature fixation on logistics in early interviews.

EasyTechnical

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How would you prepare a defensible, data-driven salary range for yourself for a data scientist role in two different locations (for example, San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, TX)? List the data sources you would use, how you would normalize for level and cost-of-living, and sketch a sample calculation you might present to a recruiter.

MediumTechnical

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Describe how to evaluate an RSU grant versus stock options when comparing offers. Explain the typical tax treatment for each in the United States (general overview, not tax advice), their differences in downside protection and upside potential, and how these differences should influence what you push for during negotiations as a mid-level or senior data scientist.

MediumTechnical

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Describe a data-driven approach to benchmarking your compensation: list the public and private datasets you would use (e.g., levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Payscale, SEC filings for public companies), the statistical adjustments to make for experience, education, and location, and sketch a simple regression you would run to estimate a fair market salary with confidence intervals.

HardTechnical

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You have two competing offers: Company A (large tech) provides a high base and RSUs vesting over four years; Company B (startup) offers a lower base but significant stock options with acceleration on IPO. Explain how you would build a quantitative model to compare expected total value over five years under several scenarios (slow growth, moderate growth, rapid exit). Describe inputs, assumptions (IPO probability, discount rate, strike prices), and how to present the model to make a defensible decision.

HardTechnical

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A company asks you to defer 20% of your salary for 12 months as a cash-conservation measure; in return they offer additional equity. Propose a negotiation approach to mitigate personal risk (legal protections, vesting acceleration, severance guarantees), and describe how you would evaluate whether the equity offered fairly compensates the deferred cash.

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