Surviving of the un-fittest

Amazon / Eng
old school

Go to company page Amazon Eng

 old school
Jan 16 43 Comments

Went from an L5 to a staff engineering gig in a startup .. and struggling to keep up with everyone around ..

I have put out buggy code which got caught in reviews..

I have been presenting high level designs with no working knowledge of the existing system .. and mostly the designs are basic .. nothing to brag about

VP has a weekly 1:1 with me where I have nothing to contribute except how amazing this place is .. he wants inputs on IPO rollout and all I can speak about is weather is lovely in Austin

Been opted out of on call so I don’t have to deal with that as well(no contribution from me on that front too)

90 day mark on Tuesday .. no design in production or even approved.. 6 CR with 5 revisions in average .. 0 value add.. manager feedback is I need to find my voice and be more vocal. I have gone quite because I don’t know shit.

I am planning to just quit and tell them they got the wrong guy . I don’t have enough experience . Any suggestions ?

TC: 350k cash .. rest in stocks
YOY: 7
Don’t wanna name the startup coz they would know it’s me easily .. we have total of 40 ppl and 4 staff engineers like me

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 TOP 43 Comments
  • Waymo
    musk boy

    Go to company page Waymo

    musk boy
    This is simply imposter syndrome. Nobody knows what's going on. 90 days is nothing. Do something fun outside of work and reset mentally.
    Jan 16 4
  • Meta
    barac

    Go to company page Meta

    barac
    As a staff engineer you should be proposing solutions or highlighting things that need to be solved - even if you don’t know shit.

    In a startup that small surely you can see a million things being left undone. If not, sorry you’ve lucked into a level of role you were not ready for.

    A startup can’t afford to pay you for no results, it’s likely there won’t even be a pip— just a heads up.

    On a side note, private stock of a startup should be valued at near 0 in your TC. You got greedy and took a risk for a smaller TC.
    Jan 16 2
    • Amazon / Eng
      old school

      Go to company page Amazon Eng

       old school
      OP
      Makes sense .. I ll edit the description here ..
      Jan 16
    • Meta
      barac

      Go to company page Meta

      barac
      For context - in a similar timeframe at a similar size startup, I joined as a staff and accomplished the following in the first 3 mo:

      - provided technical design oversight to existing in progress projects, to highlight gaps, industry practices, better instrumentation and success measurements. Common pitfalls I was seeing in their blind spots. Etc
      - proposed a brand new 2 month project and delegated to lower level engineers - by identifying a gap in our platform, measuring the gap with data analysis and getting buy in from others.
      - aligned with a director that my onboarding experience was weak and I wanted to fix it for future new employees for a smoother ramp up. Along with a plan on how to do it.
      Jan 16
  • Equinix
    pack_eqx

    Go to company page Equinix

    pack_eqx
    Our generation runs after things that don't matter. You'd have been faaaaaar more happier with the previous job where you were valuable. But you were greedy and wanted more money. Now you're gonna downgrade yourself and people are gonna ask why.

    Chase things that really matter. Going after money doesn't necessarily bring happiness.

    Having said that, you're no less than any of us. Spend more time on the code and learn whatever it is you're missing. Before you quit, you gotta give your 110% so your future self doesn't blame you. Go make yourself proud!
    Jan 16 2
    • Amazon / Eng
      old school

      Go to company page Amazon Eng

       old school
      OP
      I was looking for a job switch and it only makes sense to accept the best offer .. not sure my intentions were to be greedy .. I really liked the vision of the company.. just did not anticipate my role would be so pivotal
      Jan 16
    • Equinix
      pack_eqx

      Go to company page Equinix

      pack_eqx
      Sure, agreed. Nothing wrong with that.

      Like I said, you can still turn this into something incredible. Just put in the work. Scratch everything else off your list for a few weeks until you figure things out. Quitting is not an option for us (at least that's how I feel right now).
      Jan 16
  • Snap
    noug62

    Go to company page Snap

    noug62
    You are genuine enough to accept this and own this.

    If i were your manager i would like to see if you are coachable and lay a path to take you there.

    If you still like working there, how about you have an open conversation and ask for a scope down and a mentor to take you there
    Jan 16 3
    • Snap
      noug62

      Go to company page Snap

      noug62
      You need to work with your manager to define the goals in order to get the alignment.

      You can define the scope and leveling guidelines at your place, get it reviewed with your sr management
      Jan 16
    • Amazon
      just.in

      Go to company page Amazon

      just.in
      There’s no scope or leveling guideline for 40 ppl startup. You’re lucky if they even check for technical skills before hiring.
      High ambiguity until you have ~200 engineers at least. Nobody knows what will work until then
      Jan 16
  • Conviva / Other
    St🅰y W🆗E

    Go to company page Conviva Other

     St🅰y W🆗E
    Is there a one year cliff? Stay until you get some equity
    Jan 16 1