I interviewed for SDE 2, got downleveled to SDE 1, and received an offer that's at the high end of SDE 1 pay band. If I accept this offer, would that mean I'm 'closer' to an SDE 2 promotion than say a new grad SDE 1? Also weighing another startup offer with slightly better TC. But I'm leaning towards Amazon. YOE: 2.5, Amazon Offer TC: 175k
Depends on the org and manager. Most L4 to L5 promotions are a matter of demonstrating competence and delivery. You should have a lead on new college grads, but I wouldn’t expect promo for at least a year. The caveat is, if you get promo to L5, your TC is nothing like if you got hired at L5. L5 offer for external is something like 230k. L4-5 promo is something like 180k baseline (you’re promoted into bottom of band).
Thanks for the response. Just curious: are all L4-L5 promos sent to 180k baseline? Also, what does it take for one after getting promoted to L5 to get to the 230k comp range? How long could that take?
You would have to be a top20% performer to get up into the 230k comp range. Being an 80 percentile performer means your comp stays around baseline. More time at level won’t change this.