Going back to hardware company

Amazon / Eng
Old School

Go to company page Amazon Eng

Old School
Jul 21, 2018 11 Comments

Left a hardware company to join a FANG doing the same thing, got a pay bump a long the way. Same location as before, down leveled (hardware industry inflate their level), but smaller team.

I have the feeling that at least in Amazon, things are done as a minimum viable product and then just deployed and debug in production. It is almost like the management and people we hire don't know what they are doing. This kind of work culture has taken a toll on my mental health lately.

Let's say I had been planning on going back to a hardware company, and found one that will pay me similar or even more after they give me a raise. Will it be good in the long run assuming that I hedge the potential FANG stock growth by buying them and leave for non FANG?

Has anyone done it? Am I crazy for thinking about this?

TC now: L5 230K 18 yoe
TC negotiation: Technologist 285K, equivalent to around high L6 in Amazon. Company is stable and too big to fail. Still moving fast and innovative.

Firmware for enterprise stuff, in one of the vendor.

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TOP 11 Comments
  • Avegant / Eng
    Cryptozoid

    Avegant Eng

    PRE
    Qualcomm, Nokia, Apple
    BIO
    Hardware Tinkerer, Software Engineer, Musician, Painter, Moving Helper
    Cryptozoid
    Not worth it, the product companies like Amazon with their AI chops et al, will keep making you rich with stocks. HW stocks are stagnant at the best, if not falling. Nvidia bump was rare and was fueled by a fad from Cloud, Crypto land. My suggestion: go to a Self driving company instead and book FANG comparable TC, stick around till it lasts
    Jul 21, 2018 2
    • Amazon / Eng
      Old School

      Go to company page Amazon Eng

      Old School
      OP
      Make sense. However what I have seen is rampant down leveling and limited promotion in firmware of these product or cloud companies.
      Jul 21, 2018
    • Avegant / Eng
      Cryptozoid

      Avegant Eng

      PRE
      Qualcomm, Nokia, Apple
      BIO
      Hardware Tinkerer, Software Engineer, Musician, Painter, Moving Helper
      Cryptozoid
      Pick up some OS chops, a bit of Networking and Web dev. Trust me, FW engineers rule in device companies coz you are truly full stack
      Jul 21, 2018
  • Microsoft / Eng
    Whereisthe

    Go to company page Microsoft Eng

    BIO
    Hate coding quizzes but studying hard for better future!
    Whereisthe
    I know someone who came from Qualcomm to Microsoft but came back to Qualcomm with much higher compensation than before.
    Jul 21, 2018 2
  • Qualcomm / Eng
    abc1iop

    Go to company page Qualcomm Eng

    PRE
    Intel
    BIO
    ASIC
    abc1iop
    which comp
    Jul 21, 2018 3
  • Indeed / Eng
    Baldbilly

    Go to company page Indeed Eng

    Baldbilly
    Keep bouncing for higher tc it’s like pinball
    Jul 21, 2018 0