Is Palantir FDE genuinely bad for your career?
I'm an L5 now. Joining Palantir FDE in NYC soon. A lot of people around me have been demotivating me about my decision ever since I made it public saying it'll be difficult to come back to FANG as an L6/E6/Staff equivalent after a few years as an FDE since it's not real swe work. For those who work there or made a change, is it really true? PS: I find the work really interesting and please avoid the Palantir is evil advice. I really believe the work they do is important. :) TC: approx 300k YOE: 4.5 ish #palantir
Iâm not at Palantir or have worked there previously, but from what Iâve heard, FDE work can be hit or miss depending on where youâre deployed to. If you end up not liking it, FDE->SWE at Palantir is an easy lateral move. From there I donât think youâd have any issues getting back into FAANG
I am in a similar dilemma to chose Amazon Applied Scientist or Palantir Deployment Strategist, with exactly same fear that I may never get a chance to work as MLE in future again.
Thanks. One thing I've been considering is that i have an E5 MLE offer from another faang valid for 1 year so if I don't like the FDE role after day 10 months, I'll come back to FAANG. Do you think that's a reasonable strategy?
I wish I had that luxury, but I would do as you mentioned if I were in your place
No, not entirely true. The role is flexible and you can steer yourself towards more SWE oriented work
This is seriously some insincere advice. You and I know pretty well that there are potentially 10s of FDEs who want to switch to SWEs and management doesn't approve. Wonder why?!
Itâs a flexible role that is closer to a solutions engineer and consultant based on what the group needs that a software developer. Basically, youâll have to always explain that to potential employers, some of which will dismiss your resume outright in the first 30 seconds reading it because you have that on there. Is that hassle and ambiguity hanging over you worth it?
Working as an FDE is great training for business strategy and if you want to shift to a PM style role after. Very few places let you be so close to customer/business problems and insights Wouldnât recommend it if your goal is strong core SWE skills, you should be in product development for that. Ease of switching depends on your manager and who youâre connected to, and people have done it, but I wouldnât assume you can do this whenever you want
Thanks a lot. What do you think are good exit options if Palantir doesn't work out 3-4 years down the line that pay as well or better than SWE? tpgm roles? Or eng managers or MLE?
Sorry, donât know the market for these roles well. Maybe ask a separate Blind question?
I was fairly senior at Palantir. It all depends on what team youâre on. Do you know what team youâll be on? There are dead-end LOEs within Palantir and then there are the hot projects that get a lot of attention from senior leadership. Thankfully, very easy to switch around
Donât listen to people. Often times they want to put you down to make themselves feel better. Stop talking to people who do that.