Help me pick companies
I'm 62 at MS with almost 3 yrs exp. TC is 240k but that will end in a year after my last hire stock and drop to 160k. I have a plan that I will interview now and if I get something good, go now, else try again in 1 yr. I have done well in distributed systems and some ML projects. I have done about 200 leetcode problems and I am getting pretty fast. I want to work 80-100 hours a week and make good money with absolutely no WLB. I am highly disillusioned by MS and its sinking quality. These are the companies I have lined up for interviews so far for a Distribsys/ML type role: G, FB, U, App, Amz, DE Shaw, two sigma. I like the idea of Amazon Ads because they are planning a huge push in 2018, and I feel like Id fit in. I also admire amazon as a company more than the others. But im worried amz doesnt pay well enough. I want to stay in seattle due to investments I have made here, ideally, and definitely won't consider bay area. so that unfortunately rules out netflix. What am I missing in my list?
+lyft
It feels like a big underdog though. Does it matter?
Two sigma in Seattle?
can you tell me how you’ve entered the ml/distrs area? I am also interested. Is it doable through self study and then apply internal / external transfer? My background is not in these areas so not sure if this is too late.
Well I found its quite easy to transfer internally to a team doing Distribsys since most of our products are now that way. For ML look to bing search or substrate query intelligence teams. It's really only getting started. Kaggle, leetcode, and Google white papers are the 3 most important resources.
k tyvm
Do you mean you are 62 year old?
Did you get from 59 to 62 in "almost 3 yrs" ? If this rare unheard of promotion velocity is true, you should stay to make 63.
Do yourself a favor by doing something meaningful. Work for a startup or enroll in a PhD program
If you want to pour your life into working for a corporation, amazon will pay plenty and will promote quickly
OP having been in a similar bucket to you, I have some advice. Sticking around for senior is not worth it. Other companies won't respect your level if your pay doesn't match (the drop to 160 will kill you). Go interview now and at least you won't have to take a down level. Plus you have a big paycheck by Microsoft standards for your age which can help start the floor of your negotiations high. Also, always get competing offers.
If I give them my tax slip it looks high, but if they want to see my bonus page they will figure it out. During negotiations, do you send them a tax slip as proof what you presently earn? I'll definitely try for competing offers.
You only have to show them what you want to show them. So figure out how to present yourself by withholding information when it benefits you and showing things when it benefits you. You have to feel out each individual situation yourself. Easiest and best thing to do is to get competing offers since it can make your Microsoft pay irrelevant.
What type of autism do you have?
Life
I clearly mentioned that is not a priority. Plus, I just dumped my gf so I can do more kaggle and leetcode
Or maybe she dumped you because of your attitude and priorities.. maybe.