Microsoft 65 vs Google L5
Have comparable offers comp wise (450-500k) for Microsoft 65 (Principal SDE) and Google L5 (Senior SDE). MS comp will take a significant hit after 2 years once sign on goes away as their refreshers / perf equity is not that great. 65 offers more scope, ownership, and flexibility compared to L5. Getting to L6 at G is going to take a long time. While comp is a factor it's not the sole deciding factor. What would be better career move in the long run? Would love hear reasoning in the comments. Blind tax: TC 300-350k. YOE 10+ #google #microsoft #principal #senior
Why would anyone go to Microsoft if they have google lol. I just escaped from Microsoft last month 🫠
Would like to know your experience from both the sides. In your experience how do L5s compare to 65s you have worked with? I'm considering MS for more scope and ownership. Principal vs Senior. I know Principal in MS is not as hard as Staff at G. L5 band at G is very wide and getting L6 could take a long time.
A couple of years ago I would suggest MS. But I just left due to extremely low morale all around caused by low TC. It will be hard for you to get things done when no one is working around. In my case, I'm more than doubling my TC at Amazon at 800k. L5 to L6 at Google may take you years and years. Growth at Google is notoriously slow. Making an impact is problematic. Both of these companies are not an ideal choice for growth or TC. But they are willing to keep their offer valid for a while. You could try other companies in the meantime. Meta would be a good choice, but it's a hiring freeze. Cruise is interesting. As well as other smaller companies. Having an offer from Google may expedite the process at other companies and you may get new offers before you even finish negotiating with Google.
Amazon L7? How many yoe? I don’t think L6 offers 800K
L5 is senior level which is l63/64 at Microsoft. L65 is Principal = L6 at Google. Microsoft of course
Can you share your Microsoft offer breakdown?
Free food, less scope i.e. better wlb, and better long term comp via refreshers? 🤔
Haha.. When you put it that way! But really having more scope / impact would help towards a better career trajectory in the long run.
Upper band L5 maps to L65 anyways so it's kind of a toss up. I think on some teams they'd be roughly equivalent tbh.