AWS vs Gemini vs Arista

Mar 18 16 Comments

Got a decent offer from all 3 companies. Feeling lost about future growth and choices. Some feedback and insights would be great.

Arista & Gemini will tackle Go, C++ (which I love) and microservices.
AWS is all Java (ugh!) & microservices.

AWS has the FAANG resume benefit, but with a fairly new HM (who seems pretty cool in our exchanges). Is this a risk? Will the skills from there actually be beneficial, especially with Java work? Will I still have C++/Go opportunities down the road? Is the WLB hit worth it?
WLB with Gemini and Arista are fantastic, especially with their wonderful PTO policies. AWS PTO seems pretty bad to me.

Roles:
AWS: SDE II with AWS
Gemini: Trade System's Engineer
Arista: Software Engineer

Non-final Offers (TC):
AWS: $260-330k
Gemini: $200-250k
Arista: $180-220k

TC: 🥜
YoE: 5

#software #engineering #swe #amazon #aws #gemini #crypto #arista #network

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Amazon Gemini Arista Networks
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 TOP 16 Comments
  • Gemini
    jkVb48

    Go to company page Gemini

    jkVb48
    This my unbiased opinion.

    I think Gemini (and crypto) has tons of potential and your equity could potentially be worth a lot of money in a few years if you join and if/when Gemini goes public. This could potentially bring your TC to over AWS's TC. We also had a new CTO join us in January from AWS. In general, this is definitely the higher risk, higher reward option. Though I believe it's just a matter of time for Gemini- they will become a big player in the crypto financial services space. Also if you're passionate about crypto, you could potentially be working on some interesting problems in a new domain.

    However, having a FAANG company such as AWS on your resume will essentially guarantee you will always have recruiters and companies willing to interview you for the rest of your career. Working there for a year or two and then you can go to another FAANG or the startup of your choice. Definitely a safer play and will set you up for the rest of your career regardless of TC.
    Mar 23 1
  • New
    hellaconfu

    New

    hellaconfu
    How was your Gemini loop? Did you have any concerns about them given the negativity surrounding them in blind?
    Mar 19 2
    • OP
      I had a fantastic loop with Gemini. Even did a reverse interview round with a number of the potential HMs/team members.
      The blind issue is something I indirectly brought up with every company, and the answer is basically the same. "Reality is different than the biased blind opinions". I think there's some merit to that statement. People don't usually join blind to rave about their companies; quite the opposite.
      Mar 19
    • Gemini
      KDWs12

      Go to company page Gemini

      KDWs12
      Trading Systems team is legit. A tier above the rest at Gemini.

      Also, they’re just a great group of guys.
      Mar 29
  • Google
    ~TC();

    Go to company page Google

    BIO
    m
     ~TC();
    I think you partly answered your own question. You have to decide if you want to trade off WLB for pay or not.

    I used to work at Arista and the WLB there is better than Google. It also has better developer tools than Google. Culture is great, problems are interesting if you enjoy networking. Cons there are limited career growth due to the flat org structure, and comp tends to be lower than FANG, but good compared to other networking companies like Cisco and juniper.

    Amazon's deal in terms of culture, WLB, and work is pretty well known so I'll skip that. And I don't know very much about Gemini, so I'll refrain from commenting about it too.
    Mar 19 3
    • Google
      ~TC();

      Go to company page Google

      BIO
      m
       ~TC();
      They have a very solid code integration system. Which means you don't have to worry about pulling in someone else's buggy code. Code frameworks generate boilerplate code allowing developers to focus on code that matters. SW architecture makes it easy to implement unit tests. Automated system tests churn and find bugs while you enjoy family time on the weekends. Bug signature matching means you can catch a device that matches infrequently occuring critical bugs and debug on them. I'm sure I missed a few more things.

      As far as levels go, my point is you will plateau. You may not have as many cross functional projects or big orgs unless you're a director. This is important to recruiters. Also, a generic software engineer title means recruiters will generally tend to underlevel you in interviews.

      As for why I decided to move on, it was for better pay, better defined career progression, and trying out some new problem areas..
      Mar 20
    • OP
      That's very reasonable. Appreciate the response, thanks!
      Mar 20
  • Arista Networks / Other
    networked

    Go to company page Arista Networks Other

     networked
    DM for questions about Arista. The company is in growth phase (check stock) and very easy to double compensation if you're a truly good performer
    Mar 19 2
  • Red Hat
    Rrnl00

    Go to company page Red Hat

    Rrnl00
    Arista renegaded a lot of intern , full time offers for people who were supposed to start summer intern in 2020 ( or full time around that time ) .
    I would recommend staying away from Arista. I personally have interviewed with them ( for some firewall QE team ) and did not like their business outlook.
    Mar 18 0