background: late 20s. Im (4yr exp) currently senior swe at linkedin (275 tc). been here for little over year. my performance is great and I hope to get to 300 tc or close this sept. im hoping to get staff in a year or a bit more and expecting 350k then. (just assume this is true for the sake of this thread) my team, org, manager/senior support, wlb, Linkedin has been great. but the bay area social/dating life is not as good as i want it to be so i decided to apply to positions in NYC. im close @ two sigma, im going to ask for 350tc and level 3 at least. my actual comp numbers might be lower but anything less than L3 i would not accept. my concern is, im closer to staff than i would to l4 if i were to join two sigma. infact, two sigma needs level 5 to be a manager while linkedin staff is enough. as well, the nature of it seems different, in two sigma im in a small team of 4 experienced people (8+ yoe) than I while at LinkedIn im given leadership opportunities to drive projects with 3-5 more juniors. I also feel like being L3.5-4 at two sigma might not be as good as being staff at linkedin interms of 1-2 years from now. but then again, NYC vs san jose is just a no brainer for someone like me. my worst fear is i do some stuff in two sigma, regret, come back to fang as senior eng/sde2/l4 at fb, except older. or that long term tc numbers is better at linkedin than two sigma. i have noticed people say two sigma will pay more than fang but their comp looks comparable to linkedin. has anyone made a decision like this? did they decide to move later in their careers and get whats traditionally a senior engineer pos first before moving? or did they have fun and come back as some staff equivalent later? did they regret moving or not moving?
You can get higher than 350K TC at 2 sigma. Remember that in finance target bonus is 100%.
LI staff is senior level. Getting a senior interview loop isn’t that hard. Focus on learning, you’re early in your career.
LinkedIn isn’t FANG, op
Did you consider staying at LinkedIn and moving to the NYC office?
Yes I have, when I applied there were no openings in NY office and even now there isn’t. Now I have a guaranteed way to go into NYC but internal transfer at Linkedin is subject to headcount openings and possibly more interviews. It’s defiantly a backup if the two sigma offer isn’t good
How is Twitter NYC?
You have 4 yoe ?! You have all the time in the world to make such a move and come back if necessary.
I feel like people are way too much focused on career advancement (I fall for this too...). Being senior 1 year or 2 later doesn’t matter in your 40year career. What matters more is finding a good partner (if you want to marry and settle down). I would go to NY in your situation. Your TC will be absolutely fine at 2sigma. However the other thing to consider is whether you’d like the culture at fintech vs tech.
After being in Bay Area, I’ve come to value that a bit more now. I heard two sigma culture is more similar to tech than other hedge funds. As well, I’m the kind of person that would rather do 10-12 hr days and be more rewarded than normal 7-8 a day. But then again, I’ve only seen senior engineers be promoted by leading engineers. That opportunity may be less on the two sigma team, which means I might not qualify for senior at fang no matter how long I’m in two sigma which is my fear.