Expected level/salary?
-Retiring from Navy (nuclear trained Submarine officer), 23 years service -BS Computer Science (Auburn, 2005) -Masters Eng Mgmt (ODU, 2012) -Masters Data Science (JHU, 2019) -40 years old - I am pretty confident I'll do well on leadership/personality interviews and would do marginally well on any coding type questions. Talking with a MSFT recruiter for Reliability Site Engineer - CTJ in Redmond. What sort of offer can I expect (TC)? Glassdoor says base of 130-200k, but no details on total compensation (signing bonus, relocation, etc). How competitive would I be for Seattle type tech jobs with no real experience in Software engineering?
TC now?
I'm still active duty. Salary around 140k for DC area
If you’re an officer then you have some kind of management experience. I’ve seen a few AF officers transition into tech, but they may be outliers.
Hey op, thank you for your service to the country. 🙏🏽
Thanks for your support. Lots of hard working Americans (like yourself) contribute to the success and safety of our nation.
You are welcome! Have you also thought about joining some of these security startups as consultant? Many of these security companies hire veterans, specifically for their experience in handling critical situation. In general, prepare leet code. Spend as much time as you can. This will help you do well in interviews. You will do well. PS: pmed you.
I have a colleague who is a former navy officer, he is doing great as an EPM. I think you guys have a lot of soft skills and nerves, what is super useful to keep projects on track when all the engineers are a bunch of new grads or archetypical nerds with (sometimes) doubtful social skills. Good luck for your transition !
Right on. Have any example TC figures in the Seattle area? I am watching a few TPM/PM roles at FB but the TC numbers on glassdoor have a pretty wide variance, and I have no idea where I'd start out at given my unique situation. My main goal is to make about what I am now (140k as a LCDR in DC) and just crush it when I get the opportunity. If I have to start a bit lower I'll manage since I get partial retirement (other half going to the ex). But a significant portion of my income is tax exempt so my net will still be less. The thing that worries me is companies passing on me due to my lack of experience, which I guess is less of a concern in an EPM type role.
Have you done anything with servers and programming during your service? Because SRE demands both.
Unfortunately, most of our technical work gets outsourced to the smart guys in silicon valley. I have no real experience programming but I do alright in the classroom. I think the interest in me for the site reliability is the lack of options for the position. It's pretty hard to find tech savvy people who have a TS/SCI clearance, and can pass a polygraph.
I see that makes sense now I remember they do do some gov stuff. I recommend picking up a Python book/online tutorial and play with Ububtu on a laptop as a starter. I am not sure if MSFT SRE needs to leetcode. If so that would add some extra time for you to get up to speed. In general interview you might expect: 1. Coding 2. Troubleshooting/Linux 3. System design 4. Behavioral Some companies might omit some. Feel free to PM me if you have extra questions re SRE in general.