One thing to be aware of is that titles given by small and medium-sized companies are viewed differently than titles at large and well-respected, well-known com

One thing to be aware of is that titles given by small and medium-sized companies are viewed differently than titles at large and well-respected, well-known companies. For example, someone who is a VP at a startup might equate to a typical Manager at a larger company. Someone who is a CTO or Chief Architect at a startup might be a Senior Engineer at a larger company. Large companies have an approximate scale in mind for their titles, where a Manager, Director, VP, etc. are responsible for (on average) a certain number of people reporting to them, and a certain amount of budget. "Director" level at a large company may entail responsibility for hundreds of employees and significant budget. That director has far more actual responsibility and scope than a startup "VP of Engineering" with a 10-person team. To put it in different terms: Anyone can pay $50 to incorporate online and they'll be a CEO. The actual prestige of the person and their CEO title significantly depends on the prestige and scope of the company. From a career perspective, what others will care about and evaluate are a person's actual scope, responsibilities, and accomplishments. So be careful about viewing a title as a reward; a better reward is an actual increase in scope, responsibilities, and compensation.