Recently finished G onsite and was told I wasn't L4 material but L3 was good. I got the typical "you were close, so we think you'd make L4 in a year or so" talk so not sure if that's true or not. Looking at rough salary ranges from levels.fyi, and what it costs to live in SF, I'd be taking a pay cut (salary wise, stonks would be worth more for sure). Should I still accept the L3 offer even if it means taking a pay cut? TC: ~$140k YOE: ~4yrs #google #visa #personalfinance #L3
How soon after on-site did you hear back at G?
I'm interviewing at other places so it took them a little less than a week. YMMV
Isn’t it embarrassing to be hired at the same level as a new college grad? They are pretty much telling you that your 4 yoe have no worth. Unless you are coming from WITCH have some self respect and tell them to fk off
Yeah it's not the _best_ feeling for sure. Kinda why I posted on here to see if I'm not thinking straight and get some outside perspective.
sounds like you are gonna accept. just remember new grad L3s will be making more than you. hope the thrill of being employed by G lets you forget that every day
Are you saying the offer was lower than your current TC of 140? You can get more than that as L3 if you negotiate.
It's a combo of TC and COL differences. Area I'm in is cheaper, so my current TC goes a bit further than the higher TC from G in SF. There's also the matter of coming in with 4 YOE at L3, which I'm not sure is common or not.
calm down !! everyone starts at different levels and progresses at their own pace. If you didn't meet the bar then that's that Either get a competing offer or pick google and thank me few years down the lane. Blinders will only tell you not to settle below 500 k and L5 .
While it does kinda hurt the ol' pride, I do view it as "if I messed up and didn't meet L4, then I guess I'm L3". Sucks, but I get it. Tbf I did _pretty bad_ on one portion in particular, so I didn't even expect an offer. Still want to make sure this is a good career / financial move.
It's a great career move, 4 years in. Take it and learn. The expectation at L3 is that you'll advance pretty quickly. You'll have plenty of time and room to learn the internal tools at that level. You have a leg up on new grads because you've been doing this for 4 years. And you'll set a pattern of success and upward movement, which is great for your career. Google can be stingy on new offers, but once you're in they pile on the refreshers and you'll be making more in no time.
Reinterview in a year
Being underleveled is really draining... It is possible to get promoted in your first or second cycle, but it is uncommon even if you're killing it.
The best path is probably to take the L3 offer, work at G a year, then bounce to somewhere else as a Senior. That's what I would do in your position. If you work hard towards the L4 promotion and can't get it in 12-18 months, just take the experience and trampoline elsewhere.
Many ppl with higher work experience here get promoted within 1-1.5 years at l3. That's your 2nd and 3rd perf cycle. Also with g on your resume, you'll get senior positions interviews outside. So I'd think of the long term also. Just my 2 cents on what happened with me, no bias here. Also tell Google to match your current comp in your city if that's a deciding factor.
Yeah I absolutely wanna think long term, just didn’t know if it’s common for someone like me to get to L4 with years prior or not. If I gotta be the low guy for a year and some change it’s not the worst deal. As for the comp, I’ll keep that in mind. It’s one of the things I’ve been more hesitant on honestly. Thanks for the advice!
Fyi, google downleveled me with the same 'promo will happen quickly' nonsense and was unwilling to match my current comp AND a competing offer. So don't bank on them matching anything
Don’t listen to anything the recruiter says. Promo could take anywhere from 9 to 36 months depending on how lucky or unlucky you get. That said, Google will look way better on your resume than continuing to stay at Visa.
Yeah I’ve been burnt by recruiters in the past so I take what they say with a grain of salt until it’s in writing
Google promotion process is very slow and bureaucratic. You'd be better off reinterviewing in a year.