No, you shouldn't feel the need to preemptively move to a "tech" company. Doing software at big tech companies isn't all that different from doing software at

No, you shouldn't feel the need to preemptively move to a "tech" company. Doing software at big tech companies isn't all that different from doing software at a non-tech company. Products are so big and diverse that you're usually contributing to a tiny little subset of some far flung feature. That said, the ceiling is certainly higher for top-tier developers. So, I wouldn't say you should take lower pay now just to get a foot in the door. But if you do get to the point where you're hitting a glass ceiling, then certainly make the jump. That's just the financial/career perspective. As far as how much you like the job / how much you contribute, well per my experience, the grass is always greener on the other side. When you're working on something small, you have greater influence on the product but the scope of the product itself isn't so great, and vice versa with big things (though of course there are some jobs that fail on both influence and scope). But ultimately your goals there are something you have to establish for yourself.