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Most engineers think their pay reflects their performance. Colin Lernell watched the worst performer on his team earn $120K more than the best, and that one observation changed everything.
Now one of the world's foremost experts in tech salary negotiation, he sits down with Steve Huynh to break down the secret menu that most candidates don't even know exists, why you don't need a competing offer to negotiate, and how to get one of those $2M to $7M AI compensation packages even if you're not an AI expert.
Please Note: The following conversation on AI is largely in regards to AI adjacent WE/PM roles, not foundational AL research roles that often require PhDs, research experience, or other AI related experience.
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📘 Everything I know about behavioral interviews from conducting nearly 1,000 of them as a Bar Raiser, now in one book: https://geni.us/BehavioralInterview-yt
🚀 Work directly with Steve to get a high performance review and your next tech promotion in a year, guaranteed! ➡️ http://go.alifeengineered.com/?utm_source=yt&utm_medium=lf&utm_campaign=s2p-nr&utm_content=colin_lernell-sponsored
For the extended conversation, become a member to this channel or join my Substack:
💥 Continue the conversation on my Discord server with like-minded viewers. The advice section is *chef's kiss* - https://discord.com/invite/HFVMbQgRJJ
📈Transform your tech career with my free weekly newsletter - https://alifeengineered.substack.com/
Guest Links:
https://www.toptechnewsletter.com/about
https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinlernell
3 Aug 2026
Ex-Amazon VP on What Actually Gets You Promoted | Ethan Evans
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📘 AI can write your code. It can't tell your story. Behavioral interviews are the new differentiator, and I wrote the book on them: https://geni.us/BehavioralInterview-yt
🚀 Work directly with Steve to get a high performance review and your next tech promotion in a year, guaranteed! ➡️ http://go.alifeengineered.com/?utm_source=yt&utm_medium=lf&utm_campaign=s2p-nr&utm_content=Ethan_Evans_2-sponsored
For the extended conversation, become a member to this channel or join my Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/alifeengineered/p/ex-amazon-vp-on-what-actually-gets?r=2tt9s7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
💥 Continue the conversation on my Discord server with like-minded viewers. The advice section is *chef's kiss* - https://discord.com/invite/HFVMbQgRJJ
📈Transform your tech career with my free weekly newsletter - https://alifeengineered.substack.com/
Ethan Evans spent his career climbing to VP at Amazon, helping build Prime Video and Twitch and leading teams of over 800 people. He retired with enough money to stop caring what he's "supposed" to say, which is why he's blunt about the stuff most executives dodge: everyone lies at work sometimes, and if you refuse to play politics, you lose by default.
Steve gets Ethan to break down how to spot manipulation before it costs you, how to tell if your manager (or their whole chain) is toxic, and how to stop taking orders and start managing up so your boss can't afford to lose you. They close on the exact math and wording for asking for a raise — and why most people never even ask.
20 Jul 2026
I Coached a Security Engineer Through His Failed Meta Interview (Live)
Get 6 months free of Linear Business (3 seats) to celebrate our partnership 👉🏻 Redeem at: https://linear.app/ale
📘 AI can write your code. It can't tell your story. Behavioral interviews are the new differentiator, and I wrote the book on them: https://geni.us/BehavioralInterview-yt
If you want to be in the hot-seat for the next video like this, apply here: https://forms.gle/121P4FhVhxkBaPiq5
🚀 Work directly with Steve to get a high performance review and your next tech promotion in a year, guaranteed! ➡️ http://go.alifeengineered.com/?utm_source=yt&utm_medium=lf&utm_campaign=s2p-nr&utm_content=muhan-sponsored
For the extended conversation, become a member to this channel or join my Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/alifeengineered/p/i-coached-a-security-engineer-through?r=2tt9s7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
💥 Continue the conversation on my Discord server with like-minded viewers. The advice section is *chef's kiss* - https://discord.com/invite/HFVMbQgRJJ
📈Transform your tech career with my free weekly newsletter - https://alifeengineered.substack.com/
Muhan is an application security engineer who aced the technical round at Meta but walked out of the behavioral interview not knowing what went wrong. He had stories. He just didn't know which ones to tell or how to tell them. Steve Huynh coaches him live on how to lead with outcomes instead of methods, find stories with stakes that match the level he's targeting, and and bring the same energy to the interview that he already brings to the work itself.
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