I’m in a position where I have the opportunity to an interesting, high impact AI-focused role within IBM Research (not currently in research but have been making a name for myself due to cross-org work). However, I’m also interviewing for an AI-focused role at Microsoft ISE. I don’t have much of an idea of what ISE entails, but it looks like a client-facing role in a consulting org. I’m not in IBM consulting right now but I’m in a consultant/client facing role. It’s alright, but I’m a bit tired of client work. What’s pushing me toward MS is the (obviously) better AI, and if I could work with interesting clients on especially cool projects then maybe I’d be up for it - however it seems like the IBM Research role is on a team that could shape company-wide direction in AI, and is almost guaranteed to be at least pretty interesting work. Working in Research also seems to be a whole different ball game compared to the rest of IBM. It’s also probably important to consider I have a network at IBM and have made a “name” for myself over the last year or two. Moving to Microsoft means I’d be starting over in that respect. What do y’all think? Given the opportunity for either, what do y’all think I should pursue? Current salary: $150k (mid-CoL city) Potential IBM Research TC: $140-$260k Potential Microsoft TC: $130-$280k
Shouldn’t you get paid more for these roles? Comp seems low
Thought it might be a bit too identifying to specify the roles themselves, but neither of these are developer/engineer/researcher roles. I’d say the comp for IBM seems about right, but I’m not sure how salaries are at Microsoft, and it seems like a not very high level role.
Don’t join ISE, it’s a glorified consulting org with poor leadership. Join IBM and stay in research-ish and pivot to higher end research orgs.
Good to know! I’ve avoided IBM Consulting because it honestly just seems like a toxic work environment. If consulting in MSFT is similar I’d like to avoid that.
"Salary." Will the msft role come with RSUs and bonus? RSUs are a major part of comp in most tech companies, and IBM often isn't competitive on total comp. IBMs research org is also not really pure research. They'll find research conducted elsewhere, find or produce an implementation of that research, and deliver it to clients. It might help you later pivot to a higher tier research org later and there are many smart people working there, but the incentives are different. In many research orgs, productivity is measured in terms of papers published in top tier conferences. At IBM research, you'll still fundamentally be measured by satisfying clients.
For IBM the base salary is within the range listed and would likely be around there for TC since IBM offers little extra. For msft, base is around $185 and looks like TC would hit around $220k (which is a decent salary considering my mid-col city, about the equivalent of $330/$400k in San Francisco according to NerdWallet). I’m aware of how IBM Research works - and while I enjoy research, I’m not looking to become a researcher necessarily, so I’m not too worried about that (and the role is very much not pure research, though it is experimental). I guess what I meant by client work is I’m looking to potentially move away from working directly with clients on projects, and focus more on product, which this team focuses on. Part of the reason I’m interested in ISE though is purely because it seems they might work on *especially interesting* client projects, which I could get behind, but I’m getting mixed reviews of what it’s like it seems.
You will definitely get A LOT of AI projects at ISE. Current focus is 50% AI 50% digital factory. Not all of them will be interesting, but you will have a pick. Plus projects are 4-6 months in length, so you are never stuck in a boring one for long.
Thanks for the insight! I think I might actually work on close to 100% AI projects as the hiring team within ISE is dedicated solely to Generative AI. Are you in ISE? Would you mind talking a bit about your experience if so? The team sounded very interesting in the interviews (I should hear back in the next couple weeks), but I’m curious about work life balance and what kind of metrics the employees are measured on if you might be able to shed a little light there.
I'm in ISE yes. Not in D&AI, I Iead a crew of SWEs, although there's not much difference. I'd say this is the best place for WLB I had in my entire career. The unique nature of engagements (they are free to our clients) means that we don't really owe anything to them. Ofc we try to deliver the best possible work on the time agreed, but this is not consultancy. No timesheets, no strict deadlines. If you start a project and 3 months down the line figure out that you will only be able to complete say 70% of it by agreed date, nobody is going to say you have to work overtime to push to 100%. Obviously we try to estimate and plan things so that we finish 100% but shit happens. The most important thing is that you are not going to be stressed to deliver more than you want. A colleague of mine was actually warned few months ago by his manager because he found out that someone on their team was working at midnight. He was told to find out why this is happening and to make sure that IC is not overworking themselves.
Hey gpt69, Can you pls tell us a little bit about the work site? Do you get to work remotely? Or is it on-site? I hear that people in ISE have to travel a bit. What is the extent of the travel. Is it like you stay away from home for days? Or is it fly in fly out?
Precovid it was a lot of travelling yes. Nowadays, not so much. Usually a week on site with the customer at the beginning of the project and a week in the end. So in total about 2 weeks each 3-4 months. The rest it's hybrid work, part time office part time home. Depending on the location, some people go to the office once a month at best.
Both sound like very prestigious roles, congrats! - Day Laborer / TC: 680k