Take a look
April, 2017 : Joined in Oracle as fresh grad (not from any premium college) with 10LPA package in Bangalore, India. Somewhere here 3-4 months of competitive programming. August, 2018 : Applied for Microsoft, Amazon, Samsung through referrals. Samsung didn't even bother to give a reply. Microsoft sent a reject mail after some days. Passed Amazon hackerrank test and was called for interviews. 2 days after that received an offer but a fresh grad offer 12.5 lakh base, 5 lakh joining, 10 lakh stock. I was not expecting a SDE II but atleast a higher band SDE I offer. Ended up rejecting it listening to a friend who made me believe I could get much more in other companies. Totally regret it right now. April 2019 : By now spent nearly 2 years at Oracle with tiny increases in salary. Again here applied for Microsoft, Flipkart, swiggy. Finally got interview call from Microsoft. By the end of process, I was offered again a fresh grad offer L59 with 2yrs exp. So I was like whatever and accepted it. Didn't even tried to negotiate. 1. Is this because of 2nd grade offer from Oracle as fresh grad? (Because it offers higher packages to IIT grads for same role) 2. Is this because of my competency during interviews? 3. Is this because I am not from a premium college? Embarrassed because joining with same package as fresh grads in 2019 I think your undergraduate university matters a lot, atleast in India. What do you guys think?
Did you learn a lot at Oracle? Maybe the interviewers were trying to figure out if your 2 yoe is worth anything.
While the Amazon offer was good for that time, not sure why Microsoft lowballed level and offer at 2 year exp. Also can you share some numbers wrt how many applications, how many phone screens, onsites etc. during the process at 2 year mark.
The amazon offer was something you should have accepted. Try to get competing offers always, it's a thumb rule while jumping ships. Microsoft always lowballs unless you are from FAANG. Join Microsoft and get into a performance mode for first 6-9 months. Promos happen every quarter and 59-60 is pretty easy.
There’s definitely some bias for top tier universities especially for 0-2 yoe. Microsoft as a brand should help you going forward. Don’t feel bad. It’s still a start of your career and there’s still miles to go and lots to achieve. Apply for an MS and work in US or some other foreign country post that if that’s your thing or you wish to do a quick boost in terms of career or salary progression.