How to go from L6 directly to Director? IC track seems like a dead end but I don’t want to waste my life on middle management politics.
Another option - start your company and become a coe directly. Side benefit, you can also promote similar minded people from IC to exec roles directly. All politics free of course.
That’s not a helpful comment. Have you kept your eyes open to see the kind of politicking and backstabbing present in M1 and M2 ranks?
Ok, here are some helpful pointers: 1. it is naive to think politics only happen at some levels and not at other levels. Higher you go, schemes are ruthless and risks are more. 2. As long as you work with human beings there will always be some politics. That is primordial human nature. The trick is to learnt to deal with it, work thought it, and raise above it. These are the real leaders. In other words, there are no free lunches or short cuts. Anything worth something is worth fighting for.
Have prior experience as a director or move to a startup with title inflation.
And then boomerang back to FANG?
Sure, after five to ten years.