Google India vs MS internal transfer to US
L64 SWE at MS. I had got a Redmond move offer in Jan, and had already been working for the Redmond team since while the visa process was going. Have got the L1B visa now, but waiting for the travel ban to end in order to move to US. Meanwhile, I just converted L5 Google Hyderabad. Could really use the Blind community's help to make the decision.
Pros of MS US move: 1) USD, 2) American way of life
Cons:Will need to wait for H1B (which being a lottery has no predictability of timeline) in order to be able to switch companies. Already feel that I've worked too long at a single company
Pros of Google Hyderabad:1) Google has been my dream company, 2) Not having to prep for Google interviews again, 3) Big salary bump in INR
Cons: Will need to wait for a couple of years atleast to be able to make the US move
TC at MS India: Base 46, Stocks USD 50K last year
TC offered at Google: Base 56L, Stocks USD 200K (4 yr vesting: 33%,33%, 22%, 12%), Joining bonus 12L. First year TC: 1.24Cr
YoE: 8+ years. All at MS India
comments
1. L5 is very respected in Google (similar to how Principal engineers are treated in Microsoft)
2. Transfers in Google are very easy, no interviews. Even easier at L5. Look at the number of L5 open positions on our careers site
3. No requirement for "minimum x years in India"
4. If not US, you can move to Zurich (which I honestly loved more than the US) and you have similar pay with lower taxes
5. Not a single friend of mine in Microsoft Redmond is content -- they're on a lowball salary with lowball refreshers and can't move until they convert to H1B. Google's refreshers are way better (L4 refreshers at G > L66 refresher at Msft)
6. Way better tech, way better culture, way more open
If you have no problems with pushing back your US move for a year, you'll top out every possible way at Google.
Do yourself a favor and take that Microsoft transfer.
At Google, any transfers are easy. All you have to have is a manager willing to offer you a job in his team. I don't know about the immigration team and you can certainly talk to the recruiter about it, but from team change point of view, you just have to find a manager.
In India, Google India is the end of the road for you. Whereas in the US, Microsoft Redmond is just the beginning.
A lot of people get it wrong when they compare the current Indian offer with the current US offer with adjustments on the cost of living and conclude that moving to the US is not worthwhile apart from a few lakhs more in savings. They fail to count the enormous growth opportunities that the US provides, both in terms of TC and openings, which do not exist in India.
Sincerely,
A guy who gave up his US transfer four years ago, after he was made to believe that joining a US startup in India will make him a millionaire.
Yeah, like how? DMs may not work for me here
BTW, a lot of people consider the American way of life to be a con :P. USD is the only thing that qualifies as a pro with respect to the transfer