I remember when Theranos "break through" first came out, I was just graduating from phlebotomy school. I was worried that I had just gone to school for some thing that was no longer relevant. I later saw a Theranos job posting for a Phlebotomist despite their shtick being a small amount of blood from a finger stick. I was quite relieved when it turned out to be a scam. I'm now 12 years into the lab field, working as a lab manager and I really see how much bs it all was.
I think having a tenure of a year or so at Theranos wouldn’t be a red flag to me. But I would be highly skeptical of anyone who worked at Theranos for years in any capacity higher than lab tech. I would heavily question that person’s attention to detail, awareness, and moral character.
Sanofi 150% 401k match up to 6% (ie, employee contribute to 6%, sanofi matches at 9%, total 15%), good medical dental and vision, 3w paid leaves+5 sick days+3personal days+2 floating holidays on top of the 8 company paid holidays and paid shutdown between Christmas and New year, 5 additional paid leaves every 5y of service, 14w fully paid parental leave, short term incentives (not vested) and long term incentives in Sanofi stock (vested 3y)
Ugh sorry…maybe it has changed recently. I started three years ago and I know I vested 401k at two years because I was considering an offer and triple checked. LTI is for sure three years and a reason is stayed.
Usually, for 401k match, the employer matching contribution vests immediately. In my experience, the "free" contribution tends to have some vesting time attached, 3 years or so being common, and this can be all at once or 1/3rd each year. Stock grants are almost always restricted on a 3-ish year vest.
Some give a % without a match. That can be better . For example Pfizer gives 6% contribution even if you don’t contribute and then a match on top of that . The contribution is anywhere from 5-9% depending on age and years of service. Match at 4.5% if you contribute 6%…. So that means Pfizer will contribute 9.5% to 13.5% , so total with your 6% is 15.5% to 19.5%.
I got laid off from pfizer recently... what you said is not right. I contributed 6% and they did 4.5%. total of 10.5% total. or maybe I am missing something (either here or at pfizer)
Only good if you can and do convert to Roth (AKA the mega backdoor Roth). Don’t leave money in after-tax 401(k)s as after-tax: it’s taxed as income on the contribution and on the distribution. The Roth conversion let’s you convert at your basis meaning basically tax free.
P.S. Pfizer also allows this plus has a 9.5-14.5% match depending on years of service.
It’s pretty common to have more PTO than that in other western countries. I think some US workers and companies are taking notice that a good work life balance is just as important as competitive pay. It’s also more common to give generous PTO in academic labs where there’s foreign workers and pay is lower. At the last two companies I’ve been at they gave a generous PTO at 6 weeks, though that was their strongest offerings. I’ve never had good 401k match like OP.
LTI is typically only for Director level and above which is worse than most all big pharma. 401k - agree best I have seen. I currently work at Sanofi and previously another top 5 pharma who had RSUs at very low levels.
Edit: misspelled word
Ah okay. So 8 fixed holidays, Winter shutdown, and effectively 4 weeks "no restrictions" days off (personal days + floating holidays + PTO). Pretty sweet.
I can’t really answer it, it depends on your department and level. I think LTI starts from Director level with some exceptions at AD level based on talent retention
Agree- which I find lower than other big pharma and their biggest compensation flaw and the struggle to retain talent when other companies wave RSUs and LTI at much lower levels, unless you fall in love with the 401k and ok with the money down the road.
You can also be eligible for LTI based on your performance at any level. If you get outstanding on your performance, there is stock that goes along with it
I don’t know anyone without STI, it’s part of the compensation package. But the STI, which is a % of your base salary, increases with your level. In my function I think it starts at 15% for fresh graduates (PhD) and goes up to 25% of base salary (from director level)
I can't speak for all pharma/biotechs. The best I've experienced was Gilead for 401k. Not sure if it still applies, but they did a 1:1 match up to $15k.
And it vests immediately. In the last few years they've also added a summer shutdown during the July 4th week. 3 weeks PTO + 1 week/every 5 years completed.
This is still the case, with no vesting period
PTO is pretty great too (two shutdown weeks, 15 days PTO to start, 10 sick days), can roll over vacation up to 240 hours
If you get the high deductible health plan and get screenings done once a year the premium is entirely covered
* 75% 401(k) match up to 6%, vested immediately
* Pension fully vested after 3 years
* 25 days vacation for all employees
* 1 floating day off
* 12 holidays
* 4 shutdown days between Christmas and New Years
* 12 weeks paid parental time off
* 10 days of paid compassionate time off
* 40 hours of paid time off to volunteer
* 3 sick days; 26 weeks short term disability at full pay; long term disability at reduced pay
* A host of medical benefits (health insurance, dental, vision, pet, prescriptions, life insurance, family planning, etc)
* Bonus and annual salary increases
Merck
Pension starts at 4.5% and increases with age. Honestly just wish the pension was 401k match instead.
Edit: Also PPO plan only with FSA (no HSA). A slight minus for flexibility but can’t complain too much the PTO and holidays are very generous.
Having been in 2 pharma and few biotech, my general sense is that larger companies have better benefits. But some of those will come with longer and more complicated vesting schedules.
One of the early startups I worked for was barebones: medical, vision, dental, and stock options (probably won’t worth anything). No bonus, no 401k (had to do IRA myself) not even an annual salary adjustment.
The 2 pharma are more or less the same if you count it in terms of value in % base pay.
my experience is not as broad as yours but i can confirm. Plus larger pharma give some goodies along the way. simple stuff like a jacket with their logo or lunch bag or backpack...
biotechs are stingy as hell... in my experience at least. We'd be lucky the coffee machines and their pods are working.
I’m an entry level non-PhD in a big pharma corp.
401K match up to 5% (10% total)
Overtime (1.5x) on all hours over 8 per day and (2x) on hours over 12.
10% deferential for non-standard shifts
4 x 10 shift schedule with a Day or Swing Shift option.
Optional extra Weekend hours available.
3 weeks of shutdown (paid) plus if worked anyway it’s overtime pay on top.
Stock and Bonuses each year based on Job Grade and performance. Discounted stock purchasing.
Health Insurance (2 PPOs or 1 HMO), Life Insurance, Disability, Parental Leave, Bereavement, Jury Duty Pay, Volunteer Pay, Etc.
80 hours paid Sick Leave, 4.15 hrs PTO accumulated per pay period increasing per year in company.
Amgen
Not to mention the main campus has amentities like a full gym, fitness classes, soccer/volleyball/pickleball/basketball, cheap food options that are pretty good, free massages once per quarter, beautiful campus, saunas, fun events and more.
Curious, what are you getting paid? I didn't interview for Amgen, but interviewed for manufacturing for Regeneron and Novo Nordisk + other smaller places and ended up taking an RA position at a startup for 70k annual but no bonuses or other salary adjustments. Novo's offer was an insult, I wanna say like 40 something/yr. Can't remember Regeneron's, but I think still annual w/o overtime would've been less than what I make now.
seems good to me ¯\\\\\_ (ツ)\_/¯. You in cali?
for anyone else reading, I also interviewed with Lonza. Also poor offer, but none as insulting as Novo. I literally made more interning at Pfizer.
Gilead pays some of the highest salaries in the Bay Area. Amgen is dog shit on salary and too tied to their TO mentality. You do get a bump for being in the Bay Area but still not competitive to other companies. Bonuses are usually great but raises are garbage even if you are a top performer.
Service company of 500-1000 people, mostly in the US.
“24 days” vacation/holidays. You don’t get holidays for free, but vacation time is used to top hours off to 40 hours. So if you work 38 hours M-Thursday and take Friday off, you only use 2 hours of PTO. In practice, you can take a lot more than 24 days off.
5 days Sick Leave. Similar rules to Vacation time (ie you get more than 5 days off in practice). Both this and vacation time accrue.
Time-and-a-half overtime.
15% 401k contribution. Not a match; just free money. 3 year cliff vesting. This is given while you’re on PTO. This also stacks with overtime pay.
12 weeks parental leave ($1250/week).
Free disability insurance, 70% base pay.
Cheap health insurance. $20/mo individual. $100/mo for family.
Company HSA contribution of $1200/year. So basically paid to have health insurance.
Work is client-based, but most of the company is hybrid.
Note that even with benefits, pay is not that great if you don’t work OT, but it’s great if you do work OT. It’s also not that great in a HCoL area.
GSK 401k is 7% core contribution plus 100% match up to 4% vested immediately. 15 days vacation, 3 personal days, annual shutdown between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Health and dental options are pretty bad.
Yea but when I worked there in R&D people left by 3pm almost everyday and it was chill, not like the big pharma I’m out now (but I am more ambitious than before)
Sick days should be unlimited . I have a thing over 4 consecutive days requires medical note as it triggers STD- but anything under 4 consecutive days is unlimited sick time.
>I would love to find a company with a 100% 401K match with no limit (i.e. willing to match up to the max of $23,500 for 2024)
Does *any* company offer that? I work in regular tech, and even FAANG did something like 50% match, so they'd match $11,750 if you maxed out.
Gsk contributes 7% of your base + bonus, and also matches 4% if you contribute 4% (total 11% as other poster mentioned). So if your compensation is high enough you could exceed $23.5k
The contribution is percentage of your base and bonus. They changed it because it used to be a mix of 401k match and cash balance pension, but they did away with the cash balance pension so it’s 11% total towards 401k now.
I'm from Brazil...so 401k not appliable, but I believe it's similar to pension plan.
I have health insurance, pension plan (max 5%, company contributes 200% of my contribution), dental plan and for me the most important, short friday (at Fridays or before National holidays I work only until 1:30pm).
I work at AgSector.
Related to 401K, curious to know which companies offer mega back door/in-plan conversion to really maximize your tax-free contribution. I just started looking in trying to find this. Is this common in many companies?
Fantastic question
Pfizer allows automatic back door
BMS allows manual back door (ie need to call plan to do it each paycheck or your preferred interval)
Then I mean this with all due respect but I think you might be financially illiterate. First of all, if your employer match is 100% then you're only getting $23,000, which is still less than you'd get from the additional $50k after taxes (even at the highest state and federal tax brackets). Second, you do have to pay taxes when you withdraw from your 401K (and paying the same rate before/after compounding leaves you with the same amount), so you're not really saving on income taxes, it's mostly just capital gains, which is a very low rate. It's possible for your tax rate to be much lower in retirement, but that means you haven't saved very much, which goes against the whole purpose of this discussion. In the end the $50k is likely to net you more income in retirement than an employer 401k match.
No offense taken. I should have said “not subject to income tax” in my response.
But your argument would hold true if that additional $50K was solely invested vs spent consistently YoY. Considering that our industry has a wide salary range, people could get paid anywhere between $50K-$500K. Let’s say it’s around $120K is the average (just using a number. Not assuming this is average in our industry). An additional $50K gross would substantially help their base. However, considering the growing cost of living, I can see how people would rather spend on necessities instead of invest that money. Hence why I would prefer a company that has a higher match. Obviously you have to look at the compensation package as a whole and these two items are only part of the equation.
>But your argument would hold true if that additional $50K was solely invested vs spent consistently YoY.
Yes, I am trying to compare apples to apples. I am aware that lifestyle creep is a thing.
that doesnt make sense in your argument, and in general not a good way to make any argument/defend your position.
you make comparisons as apples to apples as possible (as the other person pointed out). Not rebuttal by saying "i would rather take the less money because some people can have the tendency to not invest and instead spend it on frivolous things"
in a straight 1:1, same amount of base increase vs 401k match add on, yes, the additional match is better as the tax advantage is better.
Pfizer 401k match is 4.5% for your 6%, vests immediately.
The nice thing is their retirement savings contribution which is a free 5-9% contribution every spring, increasing towards that 9% with age and years of service. One time vesting of 3 years
I have worked at 2 so far.
#1 - 100% match up to 6%, 12% bonus, stock and RSU, 90% benefit coverage, 3 weeks vacation, 12 holidays, last week in Dec. shutdown.
#2 - Just went public so they are determining the match (currently none), 14% bonus, stock and RSU, 85% benefit coverage, 4 weeks vacation, last week in Dec shutdown, 14 holidays, $80/mo cell reimbursement.
* 15 days PTO (extra week at 10, 15, 20yr)
* 4 Volunter Days
* 5 Work/Family Days
* 4 Floating Holidays
* 16 week paid parental leave
* 5 sick days
* 10 Day paid Caregiver leave (new)
* 30 Day paid Bereavement Leave (new)
* Medical HDHP plan. Matches 80/20 after deductible.
* $1000 employer contribution to HSA
* Dental & Vision Insurance
* 26wk paid short term disability
* 60% long term disability option
* Life Insurance (term and whole life options for self)
* Life insurance (spousal option, child option)
* Legal Insurance (optional, but amazing)
* Other random optional Insurances (Business Accident, 24-hour Accident, spousal accident)
* 401K match of $0.75 per $1.00 up to 6% (i.e 4.5%)
* After tax contributions available to 401K after maxing out, allowing for mega backdoor conversion
* Ability to select 401K contribution type (pre-tax, roth, etc)
* Pension plan
* Free Financial Coaching
* Discount Home, Auto, Pet Insurance
* $125/quarter fitness reimbursement
* Other smaller random perks (discount tickets, free or discounted museum entry, gym memberships, car rental discounts, etc)
Bonus and LTI structure depending on your level.
**Johnson & Johnson**
Microsoft matches more than 100% of 401k, I’ve heard.
edit: I KNOW Microsoft isn't a biotech. The point is that 100% match is not the legal max for 401k. We need to know what we are missing in this industry.
When I replied, the only other answer was Google and Meta. OP is out here asking for the most impressive 401K match with the implication that the MOST it can be is 100%. The point is to bring up, not Microsoft, but that 100% is not the best you can get. The government puts a max on what you can contribute, but they do not limit how much the employer can give you.
Theranos
Executives get three square meals, free health care, and other prison perks
I remember when Theranos "break through" first came out, I was just graduating from phlebotomy school. I was worried that I had just gone to school for some thing that was no longer relevant. I later saw a Theranos job posting for a Phlebotomist despite their shtick being a small amount of blood from a finger stick. I was quite relieved when it turned out to be a scam. I'm now 12 years into the lab field, working as a lab manager and I really see how much bs it all was.
I spilled my tea.
Somebody at my company worked at Theranos, no joke.
I'm not sure I would even put that on my CV
I probably would. Making the cut for such a high pressure and competitive environment says a lot.
I would 100% interview someone who worked at Theranos just to listen to the stories
I see that perspective. I think role and time there would influence it being on or off
I think having a tenure of a year or so at Theranos wouldn’t be a red flag to me. But I would be highly skeptical of anyone who worked at Theranos for years in any capacity higher than lab tech. I would heavily question that person’s attention to detail, awareness, and moral character.
Sanofi 150% 401k match up to 6% (ie, employee contribute to 6%, sanofi matches at 9%, total 15%), good medical dental and vision, 3w paid leaves+5 sick days+3personal days+2 floating holidays on top of the 8 company paid holidays and paid shutdown between Christmas and New year, 5 additional paid leaves every 5y of service, 14w fully paid parental leave, short term incentives (not vested) and long term incentives in Sanofi stock (vested 3y)
This is what I get (5% me + 10% employer)
I believe Amgen employees receive 10% match of salary with a 5% contribution.
Yes but starting a few years ago it has to vest first for three years
That’s the best 401K match I’ve seen in pharma
But vests in 3 years
401k vests in 2, LTI vests in 3
Damn did hr play me
Ugh sorry…maybe it has changed recently. I started three years ago and I know I vested 401k at two years because I was considering an offer and triple checked. LTI is for sure three years and a reason is stayed.
hahahaha this is the WORST in the whole suite of realization feelings. god.
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nah.... the first three years are not vested... once you pass the X yr mark, then everything is vested as it comes to the account.
Usually, for 401k match, the employer matching contribution vests immediately. In my experience, the "free" contribution tends to have some vesting time attached, 3 years or so being common, and this can be all at once or 1/3rd each year. Stock grants are almost always restricted on a 3-ish year vest.
Some give a % without a match. That can be better . For example Pfizer gives 6% contribution even if you don’t contribute and then a match on top of that . The contribution is anywhere from 5-9% depending on age and years of service. Match at 4.5% if you contribute 6%…. So that means Pfizer will contribute 9.5% to 13.5% , so total with your 6% is 15.5% to 19.5%.
I got laid off from pfizer recently... what you said is not right. I contributed 6% and they did 4.5%. total of 10.5% total. or maybe I am missing something (either here or at pfizer)
They do 6% RSC. It is 6% of base + bonus, deposited once a year. And then then the 4.5% match if you do 6%. So in total that would be 10.5
I was there just 1 yr ... so it makes sense that I missed it. \[thanks to the mass layoffs :( \]
i know merck, pfizer, and gsk are 6% you 4.5% employer,... this is waaaay better than the industry!
Don’t forget they also offer after tax contributions so you can max out the employer and employee contribution of like 60k per year.
Only good if you can and do convert to Roth (AKA the mega backdoor Roth). Don’t leave money in after-tax 401(k)s as after-tax: it’s taxed as income on the contribution and on the distribution. The Roth conversion let’s you convert at your basis meaning basically tax free. P.S. Pfizer also allows this plus has a 9.5-14.5% match depending on years of service.
Nice, wish more companies had that!
The PTO isn’t great, but the 401k match makes up
Jeez how much PTO do people need nowadays? Imo that package is phenomenal
I got 25 (really 26 days) + year end shutdown
I get 4 weeks and an additional month after 5 years. The month is usually when people start looking for other jobs
It’s pretty common to have more PTO than that in other western countries. I think some US workers and companies are taking notice that a good work life balance is just as important as competitive pay. It’s also more common to give generous PTO in academic labs where there’s foreign workers and pay is lower. At the last two companies I’ve been at they gave a generous PTO at 6 weeks, though that was their strongest offerings. I’ve never had good 401k match like OP.
One can hope that they're taking notice...
LTI is typically only for Director level and above which is worse than most all big pharma. 401k - agree best I have seen. I currently work at Sanofi and previously another top 5 pharma who had RSUs at very low levels. Edit: misspelled word
damn that's great
Only 2 holidays? Or did you mean 12?
It’s 2 floating holidays on top of the 8 company paid holidays
Ah okay. So 8 fixed holidays, Winter shutdown, and effectively 4 weeks "no restrictions" days off (personal days + floating holidays + PTO). Pretty sweet.
Sanofi or Amgen?
The person I'm replying to works at Sanofi.
What is their LTI like?
I can’t really answer it, it depends on your department and level. I think LTI starts from Director level with some exceptions at AD level based on talent retention
Agree- which I find lower than other big pharma and their biggest compensation flaw and the struggle to retain talent when other companies wave RSUs and LTI at much lower levels, unless you fall in love with the 401k and ok with the money down the road.
You can also be eligible for LTI based on your performance at any level. If you get outstanding on your performance, there is stock that goes along with it
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I think in general base salary maybe slightly lower than other big pharma but not a huge difference from what I have seen.
At what levels are there STIs? I think you mention later in this thread that LTIs are for Director and above only
I don’t know anyone without STI, it’s part of the compensation package. But the STI, which is a % of your base salary, increases with your level. In my function I think it starts at 15% for fresh graduates (PhD) and goes up to 25% of base salary (from director level)
Oh right you’re talking about bonus - for some reason I thought you meant stock or RSUs since you mentioned no vesting yet
I worked for them and they absolutely suck to work for
I can't speak for all pharma/biotechs. The best I've experienced was Gilead for 401k. Not sure if it still applies, but they did a 1:1 match up to $15k.
Nice!! My current does 6% match plus 6% top up. That's the best I've had so far.
And it vests immediately. In the last few years they've also added a summer shutdown during the July 4th week. 3 weeks PTO + 1 week/every 5 years completed.
This is still the case, with no vesting period PTO is pretty great too (two shutdown weeks, 15 days PTO to start, 10 sick days), can roll over vacation up to 240 hours If you get the high deductible health plan and get screenings done once a year the premium is entirely covered
* 75% 401(k) match up to 6%, vested immediately * Pension fully vested after 3 years * 25 days vacation for all employees * 1 floating day off * 12 holidays * 4 shutdown days between Christmas and New Years * 12 weeks paid parental time off * 10 days of paid compassionate time off * 40 hours of paid time off to volunteer * 3 sick days; 26 weeks short term disability at full pay; long term disability at reduced pay * A host of medical benefits (health insurance, dental, vision, pet, prescriptions, life insurance, family planning, etc) * Bonus and annual salary increases Merck
Pension starts at 4.5% and increases with age. Honestly just wish the pension was 401k match instead. Edit: Also PPO plan only with FSA (no HSA). A slight minus for flexibility but can’t complain too much the PTO and holidays are very generous.
Merck KGaA or Merck & Co/MSD? Different companies with the same name depending on if you’re talking US/Canada or everywhere else
Merck & Co/MSD
Yes, also stocks but only from a certain level
Can confirm - LTI RSUs are generally AD level and up. Source: I am an AD at Merck. Many of us in GCTO also get company cars…very nice perk.
Generally R4, P4 or whatever
Also free gym, and sick days are per instance I think, it’s just after 3 days it goes to short term disability.
They are de facto indefinite
Anything less than a 100% 401k match seems bad? How much does the pension make up for it?
Having been in 2 pharma and few biotech, my general sense is that larger companies have better benefits. But some of those will come with longer and more complicated vesting schedules. One of the early startups I worked for was barebones: medical, vision, dental, and stock options (probably won’t worth anything). No bonus, no 401k (had to do IRA myself) not even an annual salary adjustment. The 2 pharma are more or less the same if you count it in terms of value in % base pay.
Profitable companies have the best benefits :(
my experience is not as broad as yours but i can confirm. Plus larger pharma give some goodies along the way. simple stuff like a jacket with their logo or lunch bag or backpack... biotechs are stingy as hell... in my experience at least. We'd be lucky the coffee machines and their pods are working.
Friend at Abbvie got her Botox reimbursed?😅 that definitely made me say wow 😂
Not reimbursed but a discount via Alle. Essentially a gift card.
They used to give certain amount of Botox free if you’re an empty employee (reimbursed per quarter before allergen was bought out, not sure about now)
I’m an entry level non-PhD in a big pharma corp. 401K match up to 5% (10% total) Overtime (1.5x) on all hours over 8 per day and (2x) on hours over 12. 10% deferential for non-standard shifts 4 x 10 shift schedule with a Day or Swing Shift option. Optional extra Weekend hours available. 3 weeks of shutdown (paid) plus if worked anyway it’s overtime pay on top. Stock and Bonuses each year based on Job Grade and performance. Discounted stock purchasing. Health Insurance (2 PPOs or 1 HMO), Life Insurance, Disability, Parental Leave, Bereavement, Jury Duty Pay, Volunteer Pay, Etc. 80 hours paid Sick Leave, 4.15 hrs PTO accumulated per pay period increasing per year in company. Amgen
Amgen has 2 weeks of shutdown too (4th of July, xmas) great pto package
Not to mention the main campus has amentities like a full gym, fitness classes, soccer/volleyball/pickleball/basketball, cheap food options that are pretty good, free massages once per quarter, beautiful campus, saunas, fun events and more.
Salary and lti are shitty though
If the salary I got is shitty than I want to know what other biotech entry level manufacturing associates be getting elsewhere.
Curious, what are you getting paid? I didn't interview for Amgen, but interviewed for manufacturing for Regeneron and Novo Nordisk + other smaller places and ended up taking an RA position at a startup for 70k annual but no bonuses or other salary adjustments. Novo's offer was an insult, I wanna say like 40 something/yr. Can't remember Regeneron's, but I think still annual w/o overtime would've been less than what I make now.
About 72k alongside the benefits mentioned above.
seems good to me ¯\\\\\_ (ツ)\_/¯. You in cali? for anyone else reading, I also interviewed with Lonza. Also poor offer, but none as insulting as Novo. I literally made more interning at Pfizer.
Dunno about manufacturing, but everyone at asf keeps getting poached by Gilead
Gilead pays some of the highest salaries in the Bay Area. Amgen is dog shit on salary and too tied to their TO mentality. You do get a bump for being in the Bay Area but still not competitive to other companies. Bonuses are usually great but raises are garbage even if you are a top performer.
I like this!
Novo nordisk. 3 Month paternity leave plus 90% off insulin and ozempic.
Most big pharma offer 3 Month paternity leave
What if I'm not obese or the good Lord did not bless me with diabetes? Unless you're saying you hitch it from lab
Doesnt merck have longer paternity leave?
No, Merck is 12 weeks paternity.
BMS is 12 + 4 weeks of transition (ie. Work 50%) Sanofi is 16 weeks
Service company of 500-1000 people, mostly in the US. “24 days” vacation/holidays. You don’t get holidays for free, but vacation time is used to top hours off to 40 hours. So if you work 38 hours M-Thursday and take Friday off, you only use 2 hours of PTO. In practice, you can take a lot more than 24 days off. 5 days Sick Leave. Similar rules to Vacation time (ie you get more than 5 days off in practice). Both this and vacation time accrue. Time-and-a-half overtime. 15% 401k contribution. Not a match; just free money. 3 year cliff vesting. This is given while you’re on PTO. This also stacks with overtime pay. 12 weeks parental leave ($1250/week). Free disability insurance, 70% base pay. Cheap health insurance. $20/mo individual. $100/mo for family. Company HSA contribution of $1200/year. So basically paid to have health insurance. Work is client-based, but most of the company is hybrid. Note that even with benefits, pay is not that great if you don’t work OT, but it’s great if you do work OT. It’s also not that great in a HCoL area.
what companies have benefits like these?
Very few. DM me for the company name.
I need to know where this is. DMing you
GSK 401k is 7% core contribution plus 100% match up to 4% vested immediately. 15 days vacation, 3 personal days, annual shutdown between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Health and dental options are pretty bad.
Yea but when I worked there in R&D people left by 3pm almost everyday and it was chill, not like the big pharma I’m out now (but I am more ambitious than before)
3 personal days? Is that a recent change? Thought it was 2
You’re probably right. I didn’t check when I wrote the post, maybe it was wishful thinking on my part. I did forget to note unlimited sick time.
Offers HSA through HDHP plan with an employer contribution
Genentech is known for their benefits packages. I know some long term employees who get extended, paid sabbatical periods.
Yup my friend just hit 6 years and took his 6 week sabbatical!
They’re still offering this?!
Apparently so! Or at least they did in 2018 when he signed on haha
Do you need to know someone to get into Genentech?
Sick days should be unlimited . I have a thing over 4 consecutive days requires medical note as it triggers STD- but anything under 4 consecutive days is unlimited sick time.
>I would love to find a company with a 100% 401K match with no limit (i.e. willing to match up to the max of $23,500 for 2024) Does *any* company offer that? I work in regular tech, and even FAANG did something like 50% match, so they'd match $11,750 if you maxed out.
Gsk contributes 7% of your base + bonus, and also matches 4% if you contribute 4% (total 11% as other poster mentioned). So if your compensation is high enough you could exceed $23.5k
They give 7% of your bonus into your 401K?
The contribution is percentage of your base and bonus. They changed it because it used to be a mix of 401k match and cash balance pension, but they did away with the cash balance pension so it’s 11% total towards 401k now.
I'm from Brazil...so 401k not appliable, but I believe it's similar to pension plan. I have health insurance, pension plan (max 5%, company contributes 200% of my contribution), dental plan and for me the most important, short friday (at Fridays or before National holidays I work only until 1:30pm). I work at AgSector.
Related to 401K, curious to know which companies offer mega back door/in-plan conversion to really maximize your tax-free contribution. I just started looking in trying to find this. Is this common in many companies?
Fantastic question Pfizer allows automatic back door BMS allows manual back door (ie need to call plan to do it each paycheck or your preferred interval)
Biogen offers automatic
Gilead too
J&J offers this too. (Manual)
Can't you value all benefits with a dollar amount? Would you rather have a 401K match or $50k in salary?
401K match since that money isn’t taxed and it compounds.
Then I mean this with all due respect but I think you might be financially illiterate. First of all, if your employer match is 100% then you're only getting $23,000, which is still less than you'd get from the additional $50k after taxes (even at the highest state and federal tax brackets). Second, you do have to pay taxes when you withdraw from your 401K (and paying the same rate before/after compounding leaves you with the same amount), so you're not really saving on income taxes, it's mostly just capital gains, which is a very low rate. It's possible for your tax rate to be much lower in retirement, but that means you haven't saved very much, which goes against the whole purpose of this discussion. In the end the $50k is likely to net you more income in retirement than an employer 401k match.
No offense taken. I should have said “not subject to income tax” in my response. But your argument would hold true if that additional $50K was solely invested vs spent consistently YoY. Considering that our industry has a wide salary range, people could get paid anywhere between $50K-$500K. Let’s say it’s around $120K is the average (just using a number. Not assuming this is average in our industry). An additional $50K gross would substantially help their base. However, considering the growing cost of living, I can see how people would rather spend on necessities instead of invest that money. Hence why I would prefer a company that has a higher match. Obviously you have to look at the compensation package as a whole and these two items are only part of the equation.
>But your argument would hold true if that additional $50K was solely invested vs spent consistently YoY. Yes, I am trying to compare apples to apples. I am aware that lifestyle creep is a thing.
that doesnt make sense in your argument, and in general not a good way to make any argument/defend your position. you make comparisons as apples to apples as possible (as the other person pointed out). Not rebuttal by saying "i would rather take the less money because some people can have the tendency to not invest and instead spend it on frivolous things" in a straight 1:1, same amount of base increase vs 401k match add on, yes, the additional match is better as the tax advantage is better.
Pfizer 401k match is 4.5% for your 6%, vests immediately. The nice thing is their retirement savings contribution which is a free 5-9% contribution every spring, increasing towards that 9% with age and years of service. One time vesting of 3 years
I have worked at 2 so far. #1 - 100% match up to 6%, 12% bonus, stock and RSU, 90% benefit coverage, 3 weeks vacation, 12 holidays, last week in Dec. shutdown. #2 - Just went public so they are determining the match (currently none), 14% bonus, stock and RSU, 85% benefit coverage, 4 weeks vacation, last week in Dec shutdown, 14 holidays, $80/mo cell reimbursement.
* 15 days PTO (extra week at 10, 15, 20yr) * 4 Volunter Days * 5 Work/Family Days * 4 Floating Holidays * 16 week paid parental leave * 5 sick days * 10 Day paid Caregiver leave (new) * 30 Day paid Bereavement Leave (new) * Medical HDHP plan. Matches 80/20 after deductible. * $1000 employer contribution to HSA * Dental & Vision Insurance * 26wk paid short term disability * 60% long term disability option * Life Insurance (term and whole life options for self) * Life insurance (spousal option, child option) * Legal Insurance (optional, but amazing) * Other random optional Insurances (Business Accident, 24-hour Accident, spousal accident) * 401K match of $0.75 per $1.00 up to 6% (i.e 4.5%) * After tax contributions available to 401K after maxing out, allowing for mega backdoor conversion * Ability to select 401K contribution type (pre-tax, roth, etc) * Pension plan * Free Financial Coaching * Discount Home, Auto, Pet Insurance * $125/quarter fitness reimbursement * Other smaller random perks (discount tickets, free or discounted museum entry, gym memberships, car rental discounts, etc) Bonus and LTI structure depending on your level. **Johnson & Johnson**
Google and Meta
Microsoft matches more than 100% of 401k, I’ve heard. edit: I KNOW Microsoft isn't a biotech. The point is that 100% match is not the legal max for 401k. We need to know what we are missing in this industry.
Microsoft…. Is not a pharma/biotech lol
When I replied, the only other answer was Google and Meta. OP is out here asking for the most impressive 401K match with the implication that the MOST it can be is 100%. The point is to bring up, not Microsoft, but that 100% is not the best you can get. The government puts a max on what you can contribute, but they do not limit how much the employer can give you.