Director at current company, managing a dozen of engineers. Due to stock appreciation, TC 400k. I only work 6 hr/day if not traveling. Mainly remote, in a low COL area. Travel is about once every other month. I was happy until a recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn. I went through the interview with FB, and they offered me 600k after a few rounds of negotiations, and placed me on a team in Seattle. My gut feeling tells me it’s not worth it, but the difference is not trivial (130 diff post-tax) and I never had FANG on my resume. What would you do? Update based on questions in replies: - I am in my early 30s, have 1 kid and plan to have more. - I was offered M1 (E6) position, and the team owns a critical product feature. - I don’t have allies at VP level, so don’t expect fast growth in either current company or FANG. - out of 400k, 100k is due to appreciation.
What do you value in life?
130k is not worth working 15 hours a day. You won't even feel the difference in salary.
75hr/week? worse than the worst I heard
It is bad. Source: an engineer I know quit after being burned out. Is now taking a break for 6months just to detox.
If you’re not anywhere close to retirement then your current opportunity might be at risk sometime in future so taking up the new role would ensure higher future proofing your career. My two cents.
Not close to retirement, early 30s. I was lucky to join the current company at the right time, and it went public.
So a lot of your total compensation is in stock appreciation? If that’s the case will it last ?
Two things to consider. 1) Seattle is not a low COL. therefore is the difference in pay really a difference in pay? 2) Your career growth will probably be much better long term jumping into FAANG. As previous comment suggests, are you close to retirement age? Do you have job security? Director is already pretty good even for a smaller company. Depends on your ambitions.
job security may be 2-3 years, beyond that nobody knows.
Money wise... Do you need the extra money? Career wise... Sure it would be nice to have FAANG on your resume in general, but how old are you? Would you wanna come back to the easier job you have right now?
If TC is your only reason to change then I think you should stay where you are. There are more important things in life than money. Do what makes you happy, and it sounds like you're happy with where you are now. I learned that lesson when we had our first kid. I also work remotely. I was working crazy hours, but each night I would take 6-8pm to spend time with him, then I'd go back to work. One day I turned around and saw him doing something new developmentally. I realized that I was working 10 feet from him but in my current path I wouldn't know him. I was in negotiations with FB at the time, and my TC would have jumped by about 100k. But I knew I'd have to keep working the crazy hours if I moved there. So I said fuck it. Family is more important than $$. I told my manager at Microsoft that I was cutting my hours to 50-60 per week. He didn't like it, but I didn't care. I have 0 regrets about my decision. Every evening I take a couple of hours to really play with my wife and kid. We go for walks, I'm able to give him his bath and read his books at bedtime and tuck him in. I meant what I said about no regrets. 0. None. Period. Family life is much more important than an extra 100k a year. I just consider myself blessed that I have enough TC now to make that decision. Most people in America can't do that. So do what makes you happy man. If an extra 200k will do it for you then take the job. If not, be grateful that you're making much more than most people in America do, and stay where you're at 🙂. OK, that's the end of my lecture lol.
Really appreciate your life story!
50-60 hours per week is still a lot!
It depends on your family situation. If you have kids, and love having lots of free time with them, stay. Otherwise if you’re like 27 and got a whole career ahead of you, leave.
Have 1 kid and plan to have more...
Ok, I’m in a very similar situation to you. Making 550ish in SF. I say: Stay where you are and keep making babies. You have a beautiful life. Spend time with your family. You accomplished something amazing by getting those offers. And offers don’t expire in Silicon Valley. (By the way, did you end up making a decision?)
What’s the minimum TC at which you would definitely want to make the jump? Ask for that, and stay where you are if they say no.
Will you have the same growth opportunities at F?
I don’t have strong allies at VP level and above. Don’t expect any growth in current company.
That was important to know before voting