Tesla Motors Inc workers might not get paid the best salaries in the tech industry, but they do find their jobs to be very meaningful. This is according to new ratings from salary information site PayScale. After carrying out a survey of more than 33,000 workers, PayScale compared 18 different tech firms on nine different employment-related data points and put them all in a helpful graph. Some of the firms analyzed include Google, Facebook, Amazon, eBay, Tesla, and Microsoft.
Tesla Motors Inc workers find their jobs more meaningful
While some people search for the top-paying jobs in their fields, others prefer to do something they are passionate about, even if it means earning significantly less money. It looks like Elon Musk prefers to hire those who fall into the latter category, as workers at two of his companies, Tesla Motors and SpaceX, top the list when it comes to workers finding their jobs meaningful but don’t fare too well when it comes to salaries.
An impressive 89 percent of Tesla workers and 92 percent of SpaceX employees said their jobs have a lot of meaning. The average across all jobs was just 57 percent.
PayScale Senior Editorial Manager Aubrey Bach said: “A sense of meaning is important to the millennial workforce. Job meaning and job satisfaction have a big impact on the types of workers these companies are attracting.”
That’s not the only distinction Musk’s firms took in the survey. They also topped the list of stressful employers, with 88 percent of SpaceX workers and 70 percent of Tesla employees reporting having a lot of job-related stress. This is only fitting when you consider the high stakes involved in the revolutionary pursuits of these firms.
Lots of meaning, but not lots of money
The salaries at Tesla and SpaceX actually rank near the bottom of the firms in the survey, especially when it comes to early career median pay. This refers to the median pay for those workers who have five years of experience or less. SpaceX’s $78,500 and Tesla’s $81,400 do not compare favorably to those of other tech firms.
This is supported by ratings from the firm’s own employees on employer review site Glassdoor. Many of the people who reviewed Tesla as an employer commented that they worked there out of a desire to “change the world for the better”. The downsides reported by many are a poor work/life balance and long hours. On Glassdoor, 90 percent of workers say they approve of CEO Elon Musk, and 66 percent would recommend Tesla Motors to a friend as an employer.
Facebook has the edge
If unhappy Tesla employees are wondering where they should take their tech know-how, Facebook Inc looks like a good place to consider.
PayScale said: “Facebook certainly looks like a great place to work – not only do Facebook employees report the highest median early career salary ($116,800), but collectively, Facebook employees are the least stressed. Only 44 percent of Facebook employees say that their jobs are highly stressful.”
On Glassdoor, meanwhile, 97 percent of workers approve of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and 92 percent would recommend working there to a friend.
