Offer from Microsoft - Customer Engineer, Security
Hi all, I’m looking to get some more context on an offer I got from Microsoft. The initial offer is for a Level 61 position as a ‘Customer Engineer, Security’ (formally known as Premier Field Engineer) Offer is: $125k base $5k sign on bonus $30k sign on stock over 4 years ($7.5 per year) TC: $137.5k excluding yearly bonus and annual stock as I will be joining after the cutoff. My background: 3-4 years experience (1 year paid internship and 2.5 work) Certs: CCNA, SEC+, AZ-900, AZ-500 Living in medium CoL area My initial thought was that this was WAAYYY lower than the market value. Doing research on levels, blind, Reddit, etc., I saw 3-4 years experience should be a L62 position with salary being $150k and TC of $225k. Being a L61 I was expecting $140k base with TC being around $180k-$200k. I tried to counter offer for a L62 with higher TC or atleast a higher TC for L61 and was turned down on both. The recruiter stated this was their best 1st offer and there isn’t room for negotiation. There are several other reasonings behind me expecting a higher TC: 1.) Azure accounts for 1/3 of Microsoft’s total revenue per their investor report and cloud security is at an all time high in demand right now. 2.) Position is Azure security focused compared to other customer engineers being in Teams, 365, or server. 3.) Job description stated average salary (not TC) is between $103k-$216k in high CoL area. 4.) Inflation increased 8% in the past year. 5.) Hiring manager stated they are in desperate need of this position (more than one job posted) Recruiter stated this is the final offer. While this is a small pay bump for me, I don’t want to be underpaid compared to everyone around me and the market value. Am I being extremely lowballed or am I being ungrateful and asking too much? Should I risk losing the offer to get a higher TC or accept due to benefits and increase in salary? Anything helps, thanks all (: #Microsoft #Azure #Security #Offer
Congrats! Did you get offer from April 26th hiring event?
Microsoft doesn’t budge much in salary negotiations. I experienced it too.
I also tried to negotiate on stocks or bonuses but that was shut down as well. Seems like this is the only number they’re willing to bring people in under.
I got an offer for a similar role a few months back and the numbers are the same as you have provided. Unless you break into an engineering job like a cloud network engineer or cloud security engineer, TC won't go above $200k IMHO.
I can see $200k TC being a bit high to ask for. However, I was expecting atleast $180k TC with about $140k base. Do you think the current offer is a solid offer or am I being lowballed?
I felt my offer was low too, but in some other Blind posts - folks working there from last 2-3 years reported around the same TC. I declined the offer , I will try again but more engineering side jobs.
1. Yes, TC seems too low for L61. 2. Internship experience doesn't count towards YOE.
Do you think I’d be compensated well comparing my 2.5 years work experience and certifications? If not, what would you recommend?
Personally, I am a Software Engineer so I am not really familiar with average compensation for a Security Engineer. But if it is anything like Software Engineering salaries you can expect around 200k TC at least.
If it’s a non software engineer position the salary is on par, you can always jump to SDE position. Your job is in demand but there are thousands of who can get certifications . It’s a low barrier for entry. Good luck
Thank you for your input. If I did decide to venture into a SDE role, wouldn’t I be compensated the same? For the research I’ve done (I very well could be wrong), I would only receive addition compensation for raises and/or promotions in levels; not necessarily for role changes. Do you know if that is accurate by chance?
No, SDE would be paid more in all aspects than Customer Engineer or most security roles unless you’re really experienced.
Being what the role is, comp numbers seem in-line. If you want to jump TC numbers, you have to get more dedicated engineering roles like Cloud Security Engineer, Security Engineering, or etc. I think customer engineer doesn’t fall into the same realm as a security engineer. The way to look at this is, you can always move within Microsoft once you’re in the org. Also, having the Microsoft name on your resume - you can always hop to another tech org. Unless this TC is lower than your current one, I would take it. I wouldn’t reject it just because you think they should be offering you more for this role.
Thank you for your opinion. I believe I may take the offer and try to move up to Cloud Security Architect in a few years. I agree that my resume will be more appealing after a few years of Microsoft under my belt. My initial concerns were that the offer is under market value or under what my peers are paid. Thank you for the clarity. I will update the page with my final decisions.
Yea, no worries man. Best of luck to you. Seize the opportunity and then hop to a more specialized role once you got the Microsoft name for a bigger bag.
I don't know much about CE role, but I've heard in the past they don't pay well. It's also location dependent. And you're right OP, once you're in it's very difficult to get significant pay rises, even if you change to a new role. If you're chasing TC only, then maybe MS isn't for you. Join for good career opportunities etc. Perhaps your TC expectations are over inflated by blind SWE salaries?
I believe my expectations may be due to inflated numbers I’ve seen on forum’s. I live in a medium CoL area where $125k is more than enough to live comfortably. My main concern was being under compensated compared to peers and the market. I agree that the opportunity is hard to pass on. Microsoft is a top company in the world and I understand this opportunity may be once in a lifetime. I am still 50/50 on the offer but I greatly appreciate your input
Engineering roles are the ones that pay the big bucks. If you’re not coding or running a team then this is the best you can hope for. It’s a solid offer. You only have 3 yoe actually working so not sure what comp numbers you were expecting
I was offered 140k base after negotiation in modern work last month as L63 in midwest not chicago and about the same on the other items (bonus is 15%). i have seen others in that area on Blind for L63, max was one 160k offer so i took the offer. I didn't want to lose my chance at getting my foot in the door. tc comes to about 200k for me
Kind of low IMHO. What do you do in security? What is your domain expertise in?
I’m currently a Network Security Consultant. My expertise is in infrastructure and security architecture.
If you go cloud side of things you may end making more $$$. You have base with networking concepts, just need to adapt to cloud concepts. I had similar background and transitioned to AppSec and AppSec has lot of money! You may join to get Microsoft on resume and then try transitioning to AppSec or cloud sec.