New figures reveal how much Facebook pays its employees

So perhaps it is unsurprising that Facebook pays its employees rather generously.

According to new figures, a research scientist at the firm can expect to earn $172,705 per year.

Meanwhile, the average network engineer will scoop $160,172 (their annual salary plus bonus).

And an engineering manager could earn up to a staggering $380,861 in combined compensation every year.

The figures, based on data gathered by Glassdoor and later obtained by Business Insider, show how tech-savvy job-seekers can make as much money as investment bankers at Facebook.

The firm's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, whose site now attracts 1.35billion active monthly users, is currently, the 16th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $33.3billion.

And although his employees are not likely to make a similar amount of money anytime soon, they are certainly being well paid for their investing their time and energy into the company. 

The average product analyst earns $118,864 per year, a production engineer makes $132,534, a user interface engineer nets $146,708 and a data engineer typically receives $146,949. 

Meanwhile, a software engineer III earns $171,706 annually - but  less than the average technical program manager ($175,589), software engineer ($183,397) and software engineer v ($259,349).

And even entry level software engineers are paid combined compensation of $106,000 per year.

So, how can you attain a much-coveted job at Facebook?

Well, a separate set of figures, published by Business Insider, shows that you may be best off attending Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, or the University of Texas, Austin.

These institutions have the highest number of alum at Facebook, according to LinkedIn data.

Other top universities are the University of Waterloo, Tsinghua University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Washington and San Jose State University in California. 

It comes as Zuckerberg, previously voted America's most-liked CEO, has made his next book club pick, a release he considers especially timely after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

The billionaire announced on Saturday he would take on Steven Pinker's 'The Better Angels of Our Nature,' a widely discussed and occasionally criticized 2011 book that contends violence has decreased in modern times and the world has become more humane.

He posted the news on his Facebook page and on a community page for his club, A Year of Books.

'Recent events might make it seem like violence and terrorism are more common than ever, so it's worth understanding that all violence - even terrorism - is actually decreasing over time,' he wrote.

'If we understand how we are achieving this, we can continue our path towards peace. A few people I trust have told me this is the best book they've ever read.'

Among the book's admirers is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has called it his 'favorite book of the last decade' and 'a long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time.'

(dailymail.co.uk)