Hi everyone! I would love your advice on my next SWE role. Facebook - Rotational SWE: - 158k base and 60k sign on - TC: 218k - No more head count for Seattle. Will have to wait till Q1 2022 - 1 year commitment prior to E4 full time conversion Carta - E3: - $130k base - $178k RSUs over 4 years, 1 year cliff - TC: 175k - Hybrid approach with 3 days in office - Recruiter claims their valuation will easily 10x by 2024 Cedar - L3: - 165k base - 1500 options with 5 year vesting period and 6 month cliff - $74 strike and $240 preferred price - TC: 215k (not entirely sure if this calculation is correct since it’s options) - Full remote Current TC: 100k YOE: 3 LC: 120+ Carta equity has liquidity since they allow employees to sell their vested shares on CartaX. Which company do you think has the best growth potential in the upcoming years? Appreciate any advice on which offer I should take or if I should just wait for FB! I definitely value WLB #carta #cedar #facebook #fb #swe #jobsearch
Take fb, take nov + December off.
Coming from FB to Carta... I think it's a huge risk with FB. The company has gotten so big that they don't care about attrition, it's more about the product than the people itself. Also work life balance will vary depending on the team you join. Since this is a rotational role, you don't have a say in which team you join and lateral movement/growth will be limited. You have a few YOE and joining a start-up will allow you to make bigger impact. My two cents is for you to gain experience and get more technical exposure at a start-up, THEN join a large public company so that you can rank higher (E4+) and get a stronger offer package
Thanks for that really insightful perspective!! Definitely helps shine a light on “prestige” in FANG over individual growth potential at a start up How has your experience at Carta been? And do you think the recruiter’s valuation estimate for 10x by 2024 to be feasible?
Given our current pipeline and market dominance I'd think that's a fair valuation estimate
Carta feels like a monopoly in the making because every single private company I’ve worked at has issued the options via Carta, same goes for all my friends as well. I genuinely have no idea what else companies use besides Carta when it comes to cap table management. When it comes to company growth and compensation, monopoly is never a bad thing. Just ask our friends at FANG companies.
WLB at fb can be iffy if that’s what you care about. You can find it but there are a lot of high pressure teams
What teams to target for good WLB
I joined Carta in 2017 and my equity has already 10x. And now we have CartaX. If you are optimizing for WLB and also growth, this rotational program at Facebook is not it. In January 2022, you'll start on one team for 6 months. You won't be able to feel any impact from your work because 6 months later, you'll move to another team. WLB at Facebook is very team dependent. Because you are competing with the others in the rotational program, you will not have a lot of control over team matching, which could really bite you in the end. Especially if you land on a team with poor WLB. Have you looked at Levels.fyi? FB's E4 is Carta's E3. If you join Carta at E3 you can take that year that you would be doing the rotational program to work towards E4. If you join FB, you will have a year of testing the waters on rotations before getting an E4 offer. Are you backpedalling on your career growth in that situation? IDK. Obviously I am biased (come join me at Carta!) but it sounds like the rotational program is not a good entry point into FB if you care about WLB and career and company growth. Now that you have gotten an FB offer, they will keep you on their radar for years to come. Get some experience and impact under your belt and go back to FB in a few years for a higher comp package and level.
Have you worked at Facebook before?
Congrats on your offers !! Cedar is something I am interested in too(health+fintech, both my fav),speaking with them soon. Can you share more about interview,level and rounds ? I am pursuing a senior role.
Sure! Dm me
Hey, op and @enfj121, can I dm you guys regarding the Cedar interview process?
Whats with carta interview process. Did you do their home assignment. I spent so much time modularizing and making it efficient and still got rejected
Hey op how was cedar interview
What's a rotational role at FB
It’s a 1 year program where I rotate on 2 teams. Afterwards, I am 95% guaranteed a full time offer at E4. The recruiter mentioned people graduating early in 6 months
Make sure it’s not a hire and dispense role. A lot of people get hired to keep up with the no regret attrition numbers, unfortunately, to save others.