I am moving back to India in a month. I am currently doing a job search. But I wanted a career advice. I am an IIT graduate and I also hold a MS from the US. I have 2.5 years of swe experience in bay area. My TC: $285k I am currently an SDE II at Twitch (Amazon subsidiary) Can I make a move back as Sr. SWE? Should I do an internal transfer through Amazon? Should I join some other big tech? Should I join a startup? Should I move back in a management role? If yes, can I do that with my current profile? Sorry for all these questions but I could really use some advice. PS: I have made the decision and I am def making the move. Reasons for moving back: 1. Family and Community 2. Money not large enough to justify living here. After some analysis I realised savings in US is 2X India. For me it is not significant enough to justify living away in an alien nation far from family. 3. More career options and freedom to explore different fields: MBA, Startup, VC, Core Finance, Agri-tech, Farming etc. 4. US lacks sense of belonging for me. I can’t see myself struggling for identity for 25-30 yrs till I get a GC. 5. I believe in the Indian dream. I believe in PM’s vision. 6. A lot of visa issues Feel free to ping me if someone wants to chat more on any of the reasons. Specifically the money and savings aspect. #tech #us #india #bayarea #movingback #google #amazon #facebook #faang #r2i
What is your reason for going back ?
Definitely cant get a level up during an internal transfer. If you move through internal transfer, you will retain your stocks and bonus, which is good. Even if you secure a high paying job in india, it cannot match your base plus current stocks plus current bonus. So wait for the cliff and then join another company. Startups are good but not in the present economic crisis. Funding will be an issue and lot of startups sink in such situations. Can’t trust. Wait for a year or two before joining startups. It’s not the right time to switch the career, move back to India, get settled first, let the economy get better. Talk to some of the folks who transitioned from dev to management role. Then decide if you want to still move to the management role.
Thanks this is helpful. Do you think I have a chance at L6 role with 2.5 years of experience. I am assuming 2.5 in US is similar to 5 in India.
Lol. 2.5 in us equals to 2.5 in India. What world are you living in? What do you think Amazon india dev centres do? Smh
I would say find some person irl who made such move & ask them for advice
It's best to move with a job in hand , especially moving from us. Don't quit your current job. Internal moves make sense because you will have too much on your plate with move, same company, similar job will bring some sense of being normal.
This looks to be the consensus. Thank you.
Imo, make a move with Amazon.
Come back and open tea and pakoda stall . Its booming even prime minister praise this initiative
I’ll open a franchise in my city 😋
OP, i suggest you follow what others said, take an internal transfer, maximise TC for 2 years using your existing RSU grants and then leave for a better role. Who knows maybe you might get promoted to L6 in India too. That said, be careful with what team you choose. Amazon India is fully of teams that work on legacy tech, where the primary challenge is business logic, and coming from Twitch you might feel it’s mundane.
I moved back last year.. took internal transfer with in Amazon.. would suggest the same because 1. Minimizes number of changes which makes transition slightly easy, 2. More pay in short term as you’d retain stocks from US, and 3. Option to move back if things don’t work out in India Good luck!!
Thank you this is very helpful.
why are you moving back? i always want to but have no courage to go back
Because OP came to US with American dream and wait time for H1B broke it badly
I have an H1B with i140 approved.