This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sundas Khalid, a Google employee in her 30s from Seattle. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Between 2015 and 2024, I more than tripled my salary in Big Tech, from under $80,000 to $292,000. It felt unreal.
But if I’d known that I’d make $302,000 in 2024 through my content creation side hustle, I think my younger self, who was lower middle-class and not very financially literate, would feel proud. I’ve come a long way in building generational wealth for myself and the people in my life.
My salary tripled during my first five years at Amazon
In 2013, I started out in tech with an internship at Amazon, and got a return offer as a data engineer in mid-2014.
In 2015, my first full-time year at Amazon, I earned around $77,000, rising to $127,000 in 2016, when I was promoted to data engineer II. My strategy for securing a promotion was to assess the work I was already doing and what I needed to do to show that I was at that level.
By 2018, I had become a data scientist, earning $232,000 a year.
Courtesy of Sundas Khalid.
Having multiple job offers helped me negotiate my salary at Google
In 2019, I received job offers from Google, which a former colleague who worked there spoke highly of, and Microsoft. I really enjoyed working at Amazon, so I was very selective with my new role.
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I used my proposed $255,000 Microsoft salary to negotiate my starting salary at Google.
Courtesy of Sundas Khalid.
You can try to negotiate your salary based on market value, but having multiple offers creates more leverage. One of the best things you can do to help with this is to align the timings of your interviews so you’re getting job offers around the same time.
I joined Google in December 2019. I’m currently a principal analytics lead, focusing primarily on search and advertising. In 2024, I earned $292,000.
I started my content creation side hustle as a hobby and made $302k in 2024
In 2016, when I was still at Amazon, I started posting mostly about my career wins on Instagram to connect with other women in tech. After Instagram launched Reels in 2020, I made educational content about breaking into and growing a career in tech. I also made longer, more in-depth YouTube content in the same niche, and people seemed inspired by my career story.
Initially, I didn’t realize you could make good money from content creation. I knew YouTubers could monetize their content through ads in their videos, but my ads revenue didn’t match my full-time tech income.
Courtesy of Sundas Khalid.
As my channel grew, brands started reaching out to me for paid partnerships. I estimate this is where 90% of my content creation income comes from.
If I’ve agreed to work with a brand, I’ll include a section in my video where I discuss that brand and mention it’s a sponsored video. If you’re posting relevant videos in a content niche you’re passionate about, brands will likely want to be associated with your strong personal brand.
Having multiple streams of income gives me peace of mind
I eventually realized that if I wanted to create content while working full time, I’d need to build a system. In 2023, I hired a virtual assistant to help manage my inbox and negotiate partnerships, as well as video editors. They all work part-time to support my channel. Outsourcing these tasks means I can focus on brainstorming content ideas and scriptwriting.
Courtesy of Sundas Khalid.
I spend four to five hours a week on content creation outside of my 40-hour-a-week job, but I genuinely enjoy focusing on it after work and on the weekends. It’s a hobby that makes me money.
I now have over 878,000 followers across all my social media platforms. In 2024, I earned $302,000 in revenue from content creation, more than from my 9-to-5 that year.
You may wonder why I haven’t quit my full-time job, but income can be patchy as a content creator. I can see my content income continuing to increase, but at the same time, there are expenses, such as paying assistants and equipment.
With so many people having been laid off in tech in recent years, I know that if I were to lose my job, I have something to fall on and can continue to support my two kids.
Do you have a story to share about your salary journey in Big Tech? Contact this reporter at ccheong@businessinsider.com.
