Sure, interviews go both ways, but there’s a major difference in what each side wants from the other. The company wants someone who can deliver software and architecture, which requires substantial vetting. The main thing the employee wants (in most cases) is money, which is far easier to determine the value of (I’d consider “what’s the position pay?” a perfectly reasonable question when interviewing someone).

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idiotsecant 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

The employee also wants to understand working conditions like company culture, overtime expectations, etc.theres lots of fuzzier questions you can and should ask in interviews because interviewers will almost never intentionally reveal this information if asked directly.

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schneems 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The pay question is valid, but not appropriate for a technical interview. If someone asked me I wouldn’t even know the answer. That would be a question for the recruiter or possible engineering manager.

I think it’s 100% okay to ask about pay in an interview but not okay if it’s the only thing you ask about.

For me: I care about the day-to-day of who I’m working with and what that dynamic is like (in addition to money and benefits).

	▲	bluGill a day ago \| parent \| next [-]
		The only pay question I can answer is how realistic getting the promised bonus is. I've worked in places where there was a bonus plan that could pay nice, but in practice we got $200 one year, nothing the next, and then it ended. I've worked in places where on a bad year the bonus was $15000 (after taxes and 401k deduction) and it went up in good years. I can't tell you what your pay will be, I know your grade so I could look up the range but I don't remember it (even for my grade I don't remember) What you really should be asking is what the company is like to work for. Is there set/expected working hours (can you accept those hours). How often are there lunches that in practice are mandatory? Do people really play ping-pong or are the tables just for show / after work. Is there a dress code? How much notice is required for vacations. Will they tell you that you can't take vacation at times, and if so when. What do they expect you to do that isn't in your job description (that is as a programmer are you also expected to talk to customers). What is the dress code. Anything else that might affect your ability to work there. There are also questions they are not legally allowed to ask (family status, disability not relevant to the job...). However you might want to reveal that you are/have one of those things so they they will pass you over now (they can always find an excuse once they know they won't hire you) if they care instead of latter. Hopefully this never comes up (or if it does they turn out not to care and so hire you anyway) but depending on your situation you might decide it is better to reveal it now rather than dealing with them finding out later. This is food for thought, not something I think is needed.
	▲	saltwatercowboy 2 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Presumably - in a rational interview process - base compensation would be disclosed prior to the technical.

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9rx 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> The main thing the employee wants (in most cases) is money, which is far easier to determine the value of

Money isn't important if you never see it. If the employer can't solve leetcode on the spot, how are you to believe they will be able to figure out how to make payment?