Amazon sde1
Getting an offer for Amazon sde1 which surprised me since I have 7yoe and have led projects at a large scale company. I should have forced clarification before the interviews but I assumed I wouldn't be an sde1. Is this normal or should I demand /ask for sde2 in negotiations?
Also amazon likes to downgrade people
Most likely you didn’t pass the bar for L5 system design interview.
Amazon SDE2 bar has become pathetic, let alone sde1. Sde1s were hired without onsite in some cases. You might regret joining.
Which team is doing that?
So Amazon did a shit ton of research into figuring out the most optimal hiring strategy and hiring new grads without on-sites was one of the tests they did. There were 3 interview styles tested, and two out of the three required on-sites.
It just means you whiffed the system design interview. Take a pass on the offer and try again in 6 months.
Don't go for it. Try for other options. I just had under 1.5 year relevant experience and managed to get SDEll. You should definitely try again. Comp difference is a lot between L4 and L5.
Just to clarify that my total YOE is 4.5 years.
Well that's a bummer. I'd live to learn which part I lacked in. I thought it was way too easy....at least the tech questions. Id like to get into FANG but I'm not sure the Amazon wlb is worth a pay decrease.
You are early to mid stage in your career. If you do well you can get to L5 in an year. If you don’t have other options use this as a jumping board. The experience can be invaluable.
I am confident I could. I'm just worried about missing out on the signing bonus and rsu differences.
don't u'll be miserable. Sde1 are 1 to ~4 YOE.
plus u'll get paid less when u get promoted within than joining directly as L5
Anecdotally speaking I know of a guy who was accidentally hired at SDE1 who ended up getting to SDE2 in 6 months and SDE3 in 2 years. As long as you think there are good projects in your team it might not be such a bad idea to join.
Does he feel like he lost out on a ton of money missed in the signing bonus etc ?
Nope, they won't budge on the level. It's not the # of years of experience, it's how you performed during the on-site at Amazon.