Hey all - **update : ( trying to make this discussion stick to the core topic and not so much on my title and Compensation etc : both are updated though ) *salary didn’t include stock based comp. *VP- well, I moved from revenue generating ( sales / BD role) , which had a far bigger revenue scope and I grew up to be the VP in that role . Moving to product - I kept the seniority but clearly scope went down as per all your comments *yes , only 4 PM report to me , and then overall my work / role requires governing ~100 people ( engineers/ outbound PMs etc..) ***hope now we can get back to the discussion. Appreciate, your thoughts. Thx. Wondering what y’all think ? Due to improved circumstances, I am now in a position to think freely and take decision , not solely driven from status or $$ ( although $$ are always on the back ) . I see 4 options - 1) stay put and try to attain more seniority within the company 2) prep a bit and try for FAANG - I see big demotion and then another cog in the wheel . Not forget to mention to rat race with many “ highly ambitious” young ones 3) try a startup and see if my experience / work could bring value , and try to grow / scale - more fun but risk 4) try something my own - not so many “good” ideas ( although looking at what people got funding for , it’s not really the idea but the traction / what can get the $$ ) Just wanted to get some discussion/ thought process going on this . Appreciate your thoughts. Current role : VP, products ( manage 4 PMs and then overall 100+ engineering resources across all of them ) TC : 550+ ( including stocks ) YoE : 16 #career #productmanagement# #pm #career #sap
Literally go anywhere. You should be making way more than that as a VP even at SAP.
Seriously, 350k for a VP? SAP is a big tech company and should be paying its freaking VP’s a lot more than 350k. Try to join as a Director at a FAANG. Directors at FAANG make around 1 million. Even M2(level below directors) make 600-800k. More importantly, how do you manage just 4 PM’s? I am assuming they are PM managers too? Or is the total head count under your org just 4? If so, you might actually just be an M1 with an over-inflated title.
TBF it’s pretty limited scope, only 4 reports. Most VP have a much bigger org. Maybe SAP has title inflation, scope sounds closer to Group PM than Director or VP to me.
They will barely come as ic5 or max ic6 In faang
VP and calling yourself a mid-level manager?🤔 Also, where did you do your MBA?
4 reports and 350k TC. It’s definitely middle management.
Just sounds weird for 16 YOE to be a mid-level manager and since OP made it ambiguous by saying TC 350k+ and Org of 100+ lol
***please note updates in the original post, and thx for your inputs
Blind is generally pro- high TC and pro-faang. You won’t get an unbiased advice here. You have been in the industry for long. Do what your heart says and go all in. Even if it is least preferred on blind.
Thanks for replying . Yes, I was kind of surprised with some of the comments . Irony is that one basic trait of a PM is to “not assume”, and in some of these comments people just assumed that a VP at a 22B annual revenue company will have the same scope that a VP at a company making 60B in a quarter :).
I think you need change and don't see 2 & 3 as mutually exclusive. Respond to recruiters, push for HM calls, and see what feels good. My gut says you'll be comfortable at FANG but that's on you! Given you are comfortable and senior pick a FANG that's low on your list and just push through without stressing the interview prep. Make sure you are a GPM (L7+) b/c going to an IC doesn't make sense. Your career, thinking, energy, will be better off by just mixing it up.
Thanks for replying . I wonder if you have a view : A major part of my career is being in front of customer , on-site / workshops / on calls , and I wonder how’s life of a , let say L7 PM, at Google / meta would be ? Is it like , you are talking to designer , engineer , boss and writing documents after documents , internal calls after calls , updating tons of internal tools . I can’t think of enjoying that at all , but may be , I am just assuming and reality is different. I like to build and do most of the PM work , but best aspect is to be among customers , partners , analysts and in the field . I wonder , if something of that sort could be offered in any of these FaaNG companies
Depends on the team/product. I work in a more platform/back-end type team and I chat with customers every week. More of that for consumer roles so Meta is good for that. MSFT does that on the B2B side I bet. The rest you describe happens too minus updating tools...TPMs for that. Maybe you need more of a BD or Sales role?
Damn.. I thought VPs would be making double that.
Nope, ours makes between 200K-800K base, but they usually leave after they pad their resume for tech companies The lower earners were mostly non-tech types