Will my salary trajectory be permanently harmed by joining Amazon?
I’m getting $145k TC. Pretty mediocre. I want to get into Google/FB/autonomy in 1.5 years or so but I have doubts I’ll get to SDE2 by that point. Even if I did, I’d probably still get downleveled, so I’d get an equivalent TC no matter what (no top tier signing, etc). Then even if I kick ass (unlikely) I’d have to build trust again and promo to T4/E4 would take even longer. Whereas someone joining FB at E3 with a $160k tc and $75k signing will probably hit E4 within the next 1.5, plus yearly bonuses and salary adjustments. Is this analysis correct? Do I have any hope of catching up?
Yes you can catch up. Here are a few ideas: * get multiple offers. Then your current salary won’t matter anymore * don’t tell them your level * amazon stock might go up even more * when they ask for your salary, tell your salary expectations and that’s what will make you move. Otherwise don’t bother with anything else.
It could go up but I’m not gonna get any benefit with year 1 vest - I only get $3k or so. Multiple offers will help but I’m afraid I’ll get boxed in like I did this cycle - I hit a max tc of around $150k everywhere. Unless I get into IMO or a company that pays far above the norm I don’t see opportunities to match. Do recruiters ever accept it if you don’t tell them your level?
You don’t have to tell recruiters your level. Many people come from startups that don’t even have the concept of levels
Just leave after a year, pretty easy to raise your comp by 40k-60k+ by jumping after a year.
True but that would still be way than most people I know, especially after 1 year.
Don't run for money. Work smart and demand to be compensated for it.
Amazon won't give into demands
There will always be someone you can compare yourself to and feel the way you do right now. You're basically comparing yourself to me - I joined FB at E3 right after grad school and hit E4 in 1.5 years. But I'm here comparing myself to the other guy on my team who joined FB right out of college, is 5 years younger than me, and is already a better engineer than I am in many ways. At my age, he will be far better placed than I am right now - in terms of accumulated wealth, technical ability, and career trajectory. He's probably comparing himself to a classmate of his that decided to join a hedge fund as a quantitative analyst and started raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses every year straight out of college. And so it goes on. You see the problem? So stop comparing yourself to other people that are a few years ahead of you; it won't really make a difference over the span of your 20-30 year career. Instead spend time figuring out what exactly YOUR life goals are and how to get there.
My life goal is basically to have the life of an alum of a top school, because that’s something I never had. Everything else is basically secondary imho I can’t really do that without comparing myself to people at G/FB.
I’ve spent my life comparing myself to those who’ve done better than me. Every step of the way. Know what? There’s always someone who’s done better than you, at a younger age. Stop every once in a while and look at those 95 out of 100 who haven’t done as well as you. It helps your sanity. I know it’s hard; it definitely is for me.
Ryuwus, you're going to drive yourself nuts thinking like this. Focus on doing something interesting with your life. Steve Wozniak didnt even have a college degree until years after he made his Apple millions. Jobs & Gates were droputs at a time when people didnt associate tech with high, steady salaries or 25 year old Billionaires. You are chasing somebody else's carefully contructed dream, and in reality it is made of cheap plastic.
My life goal is basically to have the life of an alum of a top school, because that’s something I never had. Everything else is basically secondary imho. — now r u serious?
Honestly refer them to http://levels.fyi ask for that level + salary
145k TC if you're in Seattle is pretty damn good. 1 yr in you should be able to get offers closer to 200k TC. I'm almost 3 yrs out of undergrad and am at about 275k, and I didn't go to even a top 50 CS school (according to US news). Most of my increases came after 1.5 yrs in. Now I don't think Amazon is as easy to increase so much, but you can definitely catch up by moving companies.
Not Seattle btw.
Why not just apply now?
I’m not outside of the cooldown time and I’m not gonna renege 1 month before starting
You haven't even started working yet and you think $145k is "mediocre" - are you ok?