Accepted lowball offer by AWS

Cisco
nrVF04

Go to company page Cisco

nrVF04
Sep 29, 2021 19 Comments

YOE: 18 but no cloud experience
Location: Dallas
Current: 225 TC as Sr. SA

Initially interviewed for L7 SA. Loop went well but still rejected. Loop results were liked by ProServ team who offered L6 Sr. CIA after 2 additional interviews.
I accepted as I was desperate to leave current job, learn something new, and get a FAANG tag.

Here is my offer (this is after negotiating; they increased s/o but refused more rsu).
How bad is it exactly? :-)

Role: L6 ProServ CIA
Location: Dallas
Base 160k capped
S/O: 222k over 2y
RSU: ~260k over 4y

This makes TC ~300k

Feeling even worse now as I got promoted to G12 at Cisco just last week. Honestly I wouldn't even have looked outside if this promotion had happened within time as I have great WLB at Cisco.

I saw some L6 SDE and even PM offers at 375-390 on Blind. Is it normal at AWS for PM (assume it means project mgr) to be paid as much as SDE/SA? At most companies I've seen PM is not considered a tech role and typically on the lowest end of the spectrum. Unless they mean PM is product manager/program manager.

UPDATE: So I've been in this position for a few months now. Just wanted to provide an update to help others. Comments about poor WLB are true but not as bad. Some days are 12+ hours and some days are normal. Totally depends on the project, but note I'm in probably the most important project of our stream. Manager is good, team is just OK in terms of capability (50% are good, 50% are very average).
NEGATIVES - There is zero sense of teamwork or enabling others, everybody is either too busy or don't care to really help anyone else. Initial few months are very hard for newcomers to get through with all the training and a boatload of new learnings. Since nobody talks to each other, the project arch, docs, support are a total mess. Also the take-home will go down considerably when the s/o bonus wears off after 2nd year and RSU have barely kicked-in. Insurance, 401k and other benefits are sub-standard.

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TOP 19 Comments
  • Amazon
    CrGH21

    Go to company page Amazon

    CrGH21
    They don't make these TCs easily in TX. The TC offered to you isn't bad. If you haven't joined yet, yiu can always tell your recuiter they you got promoted and would need them to improve your offer.
    Sep 29, 2021 0
  • Amazon
    milesaway

    Go to company page Amazon

    milesaway
    Is location in Dallas area? If so that TC is really good..
    Sep 29, 2021 1
  • AIG
    donewith

    Go to company page AIG

    donewith
    Solid offer for an L6 SA. L7s could do 350-375 in Dallas. But Proserv is fucked up. Too many projects and too few people. Prepare to do 12 hours a day for a long time.
    Sep 29, 2021 1
  • Apple
    LlSo35

    Go to company page Apple

    LlSo35
    SDM/EM > SDE > PM > SA salary wise.
    Sep 29, 2021 0
  • New
    omDs08

    New

    omDs08
    If you got promoted last week, why not stay?
    Sep 29, 2021 2
    • Cisco
      nrVF04

      Go to company page Cisco

      nrVF04
      OP
      I already accepted and signed the AWS contract before I was informed of the promotion. At Cisco, WLB aside, I see a lot of issues with strategy/structure, incompetent non-tech ppl (sales, program manager,DM are frustrating to deal with), ineffective middle management, too many fluff roles doing essentially nothing and getting paid the same
      Sep 29, 2021
    • New
      omDs08

      New

      omDs08
      It probably isn't a binding contract, just an offer letter. Just tell them something else came up. This happens to people and companies all the time.

      The only difficulty is if there are visa complications, but without those, you aren't a slave. Do what you want.

      Better to tell them now than to regret and quit after a few months. That would be a waste of your and their time and resources.
      Sep 29, 2021