I am a scientist working in a core function at Yelp (Ads) in London. WLB is fine. TC is decent enough at this level (~£150k), but I feel that the company is risk-aversed and hence not willing to invest in talents to build the best. Also, it seems cost-cutting (TC increase is reduced), and I can expect more people to leave in the next year. The upside is that the work is already at core function of the business and can be impactful. The downside is the overall company health. I have recently got 2 offers: (1) Data Scientist (Analytics) at Meta and (2) another DS role at a big holdings company located in SE Asia. (1) I'll get TC around the same level as Yelp. Meta may have a better brand, but I heard analytics role is a mess, and not technical at all. I might not enjoy the work. The only incentive to accept this offer could be either moving to the US afterward or just get that brand name in your resume. (2) For the second offer, DS team is really technical, and my role will be focused on LLMs application, designing evaluation framework. TC would decrease down to ~$120k but tax (effective 20%) in Asia is much lower than London (effective 40%). The cost of living is much lower. Savings are likely higher. The product is growing. However, the role seems outside a hot job market like London. Career opportunities may in general be less. Would you guys have any suggestions?
why would you leave a stable company that isn’t doing layoffs how did you get Meta offer in this market
Meta is a no brainer. First of all TC grows quite steadily (like Yelp used to with bonus/refreshers etc). As you get to senior It will surely reach £250-300k. Second, you got a clear path to the both US and SE Asia long term. You also got better exit options to other companies. I know that the DS role is more like a technical data analyst but I'd stay there for 2 years max and move on to something more interesting. The other role sounds interesting but you have to think about what you do after that role. I've declined offers for this reason.
I’m from SE Asia, if you value freedom, I’d suggest stay away from there
*freedom as in individual liberty