Leave Google or stay?
SWE with a little more than 4yoe, 2 at google. TC for 2021 from Prosper: 340k(Due to stock increase) Joined Google 2 years ago and was down-leveled to L3 at that time. After joinning: EE, SEE(promo failed), NA, SEE(Promoed to L4). I care about level, growth and comp. I'm not worried about WLB. When I joined Google, I was expecting to be promoted to L4 within 1 year or 1.5 year but was promoted until last Oct becuase of the cancled perf cycle. Since I already spent 2 years here for L4. I'm wondering if it's still worth another 1.5 or 2 years or even more for L5. Here are some options and concerns that I have: 1. Stay in the current team until L5 Pros: Known code base, already have some relationships Cons: Can not see a clear path for me to be L5 in 1.5 years. I can not see projects with big scope in a near future. The well known problems of google that I don't quite like(Perf, over-engineering, etc). 2. Switch to another team with good projects Pros: Potential good projects Cons: Hard to find under Covid. Head counts are tight. Need time to ramp up and build new relationships. It will likely spend another 2 years or more. The well known problems of google that I don't quite like(Perf, over-engineering, etc). 3. Jump to FB and aim for L5 Pros: Senior title(recognized by all the other companies) and some increase on comp. Cons: I don't use FB and I'm not sure if I like FB's culture. Project scope may also be like in Google? 4. Jump to hot startups for Senior title and better total comp Pros: Potential huge gain from IPO. Bigger scope and potential for personal growth. My end goal is being the founder/co-founder of my startup. Working in a startup may help me to gain experience for that goal. Cons: Senior title(not recognized by all the other companies) and potential to fail? My main anxiety comes from peer pressure. I can't imagine that I got promoted to L5 with 6yoe while most of my firends take 3, 4 years. I will feel that I grow slower than other when they are working on L5 or L6 projects but I'm still trying to promote to L5. I'm also not sure if leaving at L4 is a good idea or not. People seems to value L5 from FG much more than L4. Any inputs are welcome! #tech #google #engineering #software #swe
Geez take a chill pill. L4 at 4 yoe is good. What’s with the neurotic rush , there’s ppl who are 30+ and L4 and are not even trippin
People like op are a pain to work with. They are so obsessed about their promo and willing to throw anyone under a bus for it. Seen a couple like this while I was at G
Ya what the fuck. That’s the opposite of “Googley”. They should be focusing on doing the best possible work, everything else follows Although I do agree that they should goto fb, cuz google doesn’t need that shit
Jump to another company.
All that level climbing and TC chasing will leave you empty after 10 or 15 years. You have a great ambition, please channel it on a few other dimensions in life. It'll do you great. Hot startup only if the product motivates you. Fb only if you're TC motivates you. For all else, you are doing fine.
Thanks consull. That's super helpful.
Set a poll.
Thanks. Added a poll