Hi, I'm a SWE2 at Microsoft. I've been in the company for more than 1 year (3 YOE in total). I'm looking for a remote job in order to go back to my country. I've applied to many big companies, e.g., Meta, Amazon, Spotify, Suse, Ubuntu, RedHat, DataDog... Few of them rejected me, the rest hasn't responded yet. I guess I'm too junior for having a chance to get a remote job with them. On the contrary, I'm doing good with startups which are offering me good salary. So, assuming that money is not an issue, am I taking a big downgrade in my career? Will this impact a lot my resume? So basically, I'm afraid of wasting the big effort (luck) that joining the big tech world needs. Should I wait some months before applying (maybe many big companies are not hiring now?)? Should I wait one year to complete at least 2 years at Microsoft? Or should I just go with a nice startup that offers me a good salary? Thank you for any advice.
Joining a startup is not a bad thing. I’ve only ever worked at startups before working at meta. And I’d go back to one when I leave. I personally feel startups give better learning and far less red tape to deal with. And that’s how I look at it. This can vary person to person.
When you get near 5 YOE, many more opportunities will open up. That’s traditionally the initial bar for remote senior software engineer positions. Remote startups can’t do much hand holding so they want people that have dealt with a variety of projects and situations.
My recommendation- stay at least 2 years. Also MS has offices everywhere if you want to move. Lastly start ups can be a good opportunity- just need to pick the right one
Working at a startup is very fulfilling from an impact standpoint. At big tech, you have very little influence. At a startup, a feature you suggest can very much come to life. From a growth perspective, nothing compares as far as the skills you gain. I’d say the things that suck at startup are: pay(pay can be tied heavily to equity that is Monopoly money unless if that startup IPO/gets acquired) and if you want to grow the managerial track after TL or Manager, it’s harder to grow<— you need people to leave or the startup to grow in another department in order to keep growing
From which country to where? TC?
don't want to give too much info, btw I'm in Europe, 100k TC