I’m a 37 SWE @ MSFT (career changer; switched careers in 2018). I’ll hit my two year mark at the company in February & recently got married. I’m part of a team that supports an internal app & was told by the recruiter that the team doesn’t have “much equity” when I was negotiating my comp. Although, my comp ratio is somehow 1.1 while living in MCOL🙃 During my time, I’ve always had positive feedback during my connects but have never been promoted (no raises this year either). I was hired as L61 & feel like I deserve at least a L62 promo especially since one of our senior SWEs got laid off thus had to pick up the slack (I’ve communicated just that to my manager). Meanwhile, I’m part of a work group (ERG) where folks were promoted from a 60-to-63 within that time span although they aren’t anything special including one that works in no-code. I’m wondering if I should switch teams to one that has a higher “equity” since my current team seems to have a scarlet letter attached to it due to sh!t that apparently happened 5 years ago under a completely different manager.😭 I’ve recently been contacted by a Google recruiter who said I can bypass the phone screen if I’m interested. I’ve also seen people from MSFT jumping ship to Meta & doubling their TC. I’ll be 40 in 3 years, have a mortgage (bought in early 2022 so no “pandemic” equity😢) & might start a family soon (wife works at a nonprofit so makes 🥜 ) so I want something stable rather than the startup lottery. I’m fine with a senior role being my terminal level. I’ve heard that the internal transfer process sucks at MSFT so I’m wondering if I should start applying elsewhere before the 4-year cliff. If so, is the squeeze worth the juice at Google nowadays? I’ve also heard refreshers aren’t offered the same year you’re hired so probably doesn’t make sense to start an interview process in January (Would have to pay back my signing bonus if I leave MSFT before February😅). Google also seems to have RTO but I’m currently 100% remote.🤔 Currently work in the microservices & container apps worlds. My tech stack is .NET/C#, Angular/TypeScript, Azure (do have an AWS associates cert) aka “full-stack” if anybody cares. Have also placed in a couple of hackathons. Blind tax: Level: L61 YoE: 5 (bootcamp grad) Comp: 200k (or 180k w/o signing bonus) Location: Charlotte, NC but WFH (100%) Visa status: US Citizen Mortgage: $3k😭 (house-hacking w/ $2k rental income but everything goes to maintenance) #engineering #software #swe #microsoft #google #meta
Go to Google if you can with better money. I don't know what having equity means. I have been at MS a time, both as an ic and a manager. Irrespective getting 62 should not be a big deal if you have delivered impact and your manager agrees. The fact that hasn't happened means you should work to have alternates. So prep and interview well. Not just at Google but other big tech too that gives RSUs and are stable companies. This is not the time to try start ups. Although even at big tech, you got to be careful. But hopefully that will be worth the risk
In that case, might start the Leetcode grind in January then start interviewing in the summer. If I do get an offer then bounce in September once I get my bonus from MSFT regardless of whether or not I get a promotion. If I do get laid off then will also take the severance.😂 I made the mistake of joining MSFT a month before I got my bonus from my previous employer.😅
dont think google will allow full remote though
Google is barely hiring, we're not really hiring remote and we don't have an office in Charlotte, so don't put much into a recruiter reaching out.
200k in NC for a boot camper doesn't sound bad at all. Be careful what you wish for. I don't mind giving a mock when you are ready.
Graduating from bootcamp 5 years ago has little to do with where am I today. I used to mentor CS grads at my old job where I had a senior title. I also didn’t directly apply to MSFT, I was recruited by my current manager via LinkedIn. My frustration is seeing my peers in other orgs get rewarded while I’m left holding the bag despite always getting positive reviews. Btw, $200k breakdown is $135k base, $35k stock, $10k bonus & $20k sign-on. Between taxes, 401k contributions & $3k mortgage, the $135k base seems like 40k especially when you’re a fairly new homeowner with huge maintenance bills.
Here is a secret, your current manager knows he can not attract real developers, so he is smart to find the unconventional ones. Stock is also money but I think you will run out of sign on soon. Still not bad in a LCOL. I am trying to give you more context so that you won't miss calculate your position and risk/reward
Don't overthink much. Start preparing and setup a target time period like 4-6 months based on your prep level and start interviewing. You can easily double your TC. If nothing else, you already have a job at MSFT. And you can always come back if you don't like outside.