I'm an SDE2 at Microsoft (L62) with 6.5 years of experience. I interviewed at Google for SWE-SRE and got an offer for Zurich but got down-levelled to L3 ! I'm located in India with a TC of 3.5 million INR (roughly 50k USD). The TC I'm being offered in Zurich is 230k USD so it's a huge TC bump for me. Recruiter said I'm down-levelled because I don't have prior SRE experience, and HC decided I was a very strong L3 candidate instead. I have the following questions - 1. Can I use the SWE-SRE offer and negotiate for an SWE team match? 2. Is it worth taking the offer given the down level? I'll save 5x more than I do in India but I'll start at a level that new hires start at. 3. If I interviewed at F/U/Apple after a few years, with total yoe as 10 but as L4 then at Google, will I be able to interview for E5/L5a/ICT4 ?
You should focus on TC rather than level. US$230k is a very strong L3 offer, especially in Zurich. If you perform at L4, promo is a year or two away (though don't expect a big pay bump because your comp is on the very high end of L3). If you don't perform at L4, at least you're not being managed out. TLDR: For the same comp, you're better off at a lower level.
Tldr - Are you serious? You get lesser refresher, lesser salary band. Only the initial grant saves you. And promo will take at least 2 years of sustained performance.
It's not true that you'll get less refresher, everything else being equal. An L3 performing at L4 should expect "Strongly Exceeds Expectations" perf ratings which will lead to refreshers comparable to a CME L4, if not more. Google's comp as a function of performance curves are pretty steep.
Your level is your level. Do not take a downlevel. They are counting on you being blinded by the comp increase. Cost of living in India and other economic factors influence that low TC relative to Zurich. Get your deserved level and get paid what you are worth by Zurich standards. Now this all depends on your interview performance.
Just go and live it up in Zurich! Your career is a marathon anyway
If you like to travel , there should be no doubt. Zurich is less than a few hours away from the whole of Europe
I agree best reason is this!
Why would you even consider turning this down?
You're getting paid like an L4. Perform as one and you'll get your promo in a year or so and a raise. Put your ego aside and take the money.
Thanks. How plausible is it to expect to get promoted to L4 within 18 months in Zurich?
L3->L4 promo is easy, just keep your manager and TL happy, do what they say, shit out a ton of code, maybe some design doc occasionally and you'll have it in 2-3 cycles (12-18 months), sure thing. At least that's what you have to do as SWE, I don't know much about SRE track
What kind actions you got asked? Medium, hard? Graph/dp?
You’ll save 5X more just because your TC in an expensive western country with a high cost of living went up 5X of your Indian TC? I don’t mean to be funny, but for this alone I will say you are L3
Dude I did my Math. The taxes in Zurich are around 14-18%. I spoke to three people working at Google to figure out approx monthly expenses . I'm single and I'll be sharing a room in a 4 room apartment. By most conservative estimates I'm saving 6000 CHF a month in my base salary alone. Then there's stocks and bonus component too. Don't be a smart-ass. Do your due diligence before you comment dumb stuff It's exactly coz of people like you that people shy away from joining Amazon.
So you’re saying I’m a smart ass, thanks! Lol. So basically you’ll pay rent and that’s all the expenses you expect? No bed to sleep or clothes? Not showering yourself with goodies to say well done? Come on bro!
Take the offer. It is a huge pay bump. Interview bar after 10 yoe is going to be higher. You will need appropriate experience to come in at L5 or higher. Take the experience and jump to a different company later.
You’re getting a huge pay increase and a level with lots of room to grow. I think you’re doing very well unless you just don’t want to be an SRE.