I'm a recently promoted IC5 SWE between 4 and 5 YOE, all at Facebook. Started applying to senior SWE positions outside for several personal reasons.
After onsite, recruiters tell me the team wants to move forward, and I get so excited. But they don't mention the level until I ask, and 4 out of 5 companies told me matter-of-factly that I am a "solid" fit for their IC4-equivalent level like I should be expecting it (should I?).
- Google: did L5 loop, bombed coding, HC downleveled to L4 (no surprises there)
- Stripe: HC decided on L2
- Amazon: did SDE3/L6 loop, got grilled hard in behavioral, downleveled to SDE2 (no surprises there)
- Snap: L4 (heard this is pretty wide though)
None of the offers have provided numbers yet (sorry Blind), but I imagine they would not substantially beat my post-cliff FB IC5 TC, especially after refreshers kick in.
I keep hearing that IC5 can move to senior positions outside, so it's really concerning that I haven't been able to do the same. I'm a fairly mediocre engineer at FB (only ever received MA and EE ratings) so maybe it's mostly the E3-to-E6-in-3-years people getting those senior offers with 4-6 YOE on levels fyi.
I'm guessing I'm getting consistently downleveled not just because of bad luck but rather because I don't really have what it takes to be a senior SWE outside FB. Any thoughts/tips?
Personal ranking of each offer's attractiveness: Stripe > Snap > Google > Amazon.
Reasons:
- Stripe: most exciting team, great benefits, mid TC 340-400k on levels, RSU issues
- Snap: mid team, great benefits, high TC 380-420k on levels
- Google: still team matching, good benefits, low TC 320-350k according to recruiter
- Amazon: mid team, no benefits, high TC max band 400k+ TC on levels expected
Worst case I imagine I can try to boomerang back to FB IC5 after a year for external package, or rehire in <1 year if it's really bad outside.
TC: 300k on W2, 🥜 after stock crash
EDIT: 95% CHANCE WON'T STAY AT FB, reason being I want to relocate to another city sooner rather than later
I will follow up with another thread if any of my future interviews (Uber, Pinterest, Coinbase, Instacart) are successful
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comments
That said, evaluate your goals and pick the company that suits you. Amazon or snap for TC, Stripe for the exciting team, G for wlb.
Downlevel does not matter if your comp goes up. You are obviously capable of being promoted.
Coming in at a lower level does mean (slightly) higher TC with lower expectations, but the speed of promotion is a huge unknown which is why I would've wanted to come in at a higher level.
Do you have any experiences leading roadmaps/projects etc with multiple people?