Big fish in small pond or Small fish in big pond
Recognized and respected as an exceptional performer in my team. But peers are not very strong. Pay falling behind industry but should catchup due to faster promo velocity. Work/Life balance is great. Considering if should switch to FB/Google and be average and learn more or stay and get promoted faster and grow as a big fish in smaller pond?
You think all your peers at Facebook of Google are better? It highly depends on where you are, just like it does at Microsoft. If you're in the Seattle area, you should know that most of your Google and Facebook peers would be ex-Microsoft or ex-Amazon, so reconsider your assumptions.
They could be the best from Microsoft and Amazon though. Anecdotally -- the people I know from Microsoft (who ended up moving down to MPK) were all high performers there. Like, got promoted faster than the average
*Sorry to be clear, the people from MSFT who are now my coworkers at FB
stay in Microsoft and keep climbing. as long as you are not feeling board, and feeling like you are learning and contributing, stay there. a feeling of being respected and making impact is a very
is a very powerful one. it's better to contribute significantly to something small then just be yet another small screw in a bigger project.
Yes this is why I want to stay. But fear that if I stay too long and rise too fast then cannot switch cause of the hiring requirements and expectations at L6 may be too high at G/ FB compared to the relaxed culture at MSFT.
You're good, why fear? Remember by the end of the day, what you need is money and happy
TNT
I was at Microsoft before. Pay is much higher at Google and also your resume is better for later. I'd say the switch is worth it. You can come back to Microsoft later with a large raise but you probably won't do that
Stay as long as you can grow at MS. Then jump ship. Growing through the ranks is harder at FB or Google, and when you get hired they'll respect the Microsoft levels to a good extent.
Yeah but right now I will target L5 and it would be an easier learning curve. If I join as L6 it might be much harder join a new place and to show impact at that level. I fear getting overwhelmed.
Why don't try giving interview? This dilemma is useless without offer First thing first : clear the interview
Big fish in a small bond. Best advice from my previous manager at Google. Never regretted it.
how is microsoft a small pond? its a giant pond. a start up is a small pond.
I think you've got your metaphors mixed up.
Read this out loud and it sounds so weird lol