4 ms·

I'm in pretty much the same boat as you(at least, for the first 4 paragraphs). I'm definitely under-leveled at a FANG. But I'm making hundreds of thousands of d

I'm in pretty much the same boat as you(at least, for the first 4 paragraphs). I'm definitely under-leveled at a FANG. But I'm making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and working maybe 25-30 hours/week. Why would I go for promo to get a 20% raise and then have to put in more of my free time, when I have absolutely no need for another $75k or whatever? It just doesn't make sense from a cost/benefit perspective.

operatingthetan 4y ago
> Why would I go for promo to get a 20% raise and then have to put in more of my free time, when I have absolutely no need for another $75k or whatever? Those that take that job and succeed figure out how to do it in the same time.
- scarface74 4y ago
  There is absolutely no way that I could enjoy the life I have now as a senior in my department. Right now, I’m the master of my own fate. I either get small projects where I manage the entire project by myself or maybe with one junior consultant including managing the customer, the meeting cadence, when and how often I need to travel to the clients site (if at all) etc or I slice off one vertical “work stream” of a larger project and still keep it where I can manage it.
- oh_sigh 4y ago
  Maybe, but from my experience I see people working harder and stressing out when they get promoted. Surely there is some level everyone reaches where they need to put more time and effort in to maintain their ideal state(ie most people who are happy to be a high performing L5 would not be satisfied being a low performing L6).
  - scarface74 4y ago
    In my department (cloud consulting) an L5 is expected to be able to “manage their own work stream independently”. That means talking to the customer, gathering requirements, doing their own system design, presenting it to any facet of the business, doing the hands on keyboard work, automating the deployment and training the customer. You should also be able to manage your deliverables and the customer expectations and communicate the trade offs between time, budget and requirements. Of course if any of the technical areas are your weakness, you are responsible for bringing the right people in. An L6 is expected to manage multiple work streams and spend a lot more time in pre-sales. The advantage of being an L5 is that there is nothing stopping me from performing L6 tasks. But I don’t have to. No one is going to tell me that I have to take on L6 level work. But I don’t have to. On that same note “we control our schedule”. If I start routinely putting in more than 40 hours a week, my manager is going to talk to me and start asking hard questions like why am I not managing my customers expectations.
matwood 4y ago
> when I have absolutely no need for another $75k or whatever? I love reading all these comments where people complain (not you specifically), and then throw around raise and bonus numbers that equal the median US household income. Know and demand your value, but also recognize the position of privilege that many of us are in.
- scarface74 4y ago
  My mom is a retired school teacher. She worked for 30 years and then retired. She turned down numerous promotion opportunities that would have meant more money. My dad is a retired factory worker. He got a degree in accounting after leaving the military. But then decided he liked factory work more. He also turned down plenty of promotions and overtime opportunities. My barber in his 50s closed his shop two additional days a week after he started dating so he could spend more time with his significant other. People make life decisions all of the time to prioritize other facets of life over money.
- beastman82 4y ago
  I find most of these comments horrifying
- oh_sigh 4y ago
  Absolutely - my first job out of college I was making more than my mom and dad combined, and I still live a lifestyle more akin to what I was raised with out of choice, even though I have far more money accessible to me. I was writing C programs for free for people when I was 14 back in the late 90s, because I just loved programming, I didn't even have a concept of making a career out of it. I feel extremely overpaid, but I'm not exactly going to complain.

operatingthetan 4y ago

> Why would I go for promo to get a 20% raise and then have to put in more of my free time, when I have absolutely no need for another $75k or whatever? Those that take that job and succeed figure out how to do it in the same time.

scarface74 4y ago
There is absolutely no way that I could enjoy the life I have now as a senior in my department. Right now, I’m the master of my own fate. I either get small projects where I manage the entire project by myself or maybe with one junior consultant including managing the customer, the meeting cadence, when and how often I need to travel to the clients site (if at all) etc or I slice off one vertical “work stream” of a larger project and still keep it where I can manage it.
oh_sigh 4y ago
Maybe, but from my experience I see people working harder and stressing out when they get promoted. Surely there is some level everyone reaches where they need to put more time and effort in to maintain their ideal state(ie most people who are happy to be a high performing L5 would not be satisfied being a low performing L6).
- scarface74 4y ago
  In my department (cloud consulting) an L5 is expected to be able to “manage their own work stream independently”. That means talking to the customer, gathering requirements, doing their own system design, presenting it to any facet of the business, doing the hands on keyboard work, automating the deployment and training the customer. You should also be able to manage your deliverables and the customer expectations and communicate the trade offs between time, budget and requirements. Of course if any of the technical areas are your weakness, you are responsible for bringing the right people in. An L6 is expected to manage multiple work streams and spend a lot more time in pre-sales. The advantage of being an L5 is that there is nothing stopping me from performing L6 tasks. But I don’t have to. No one is going to tell me that I have to take on L6 level work. But I don’t have to. On that same note “we control our schedule”. If I start routinely putting in more than 40 hours a week, my manager is going to talk to me and start asking hard questions like why am I not managing my customers expectations.

matwood 4y ago

> when I have absolutely no need for another $75k or whatever? I love reading all these comments where people complain (not you specifically), and then throw around raise and bonus numbers that equal the median US household income. Know and demand your value, but also recognize the position of privilege that many of us are in.

scarface74 4y ago
My mom is a retired school teacher. She worked for 30 years and then retired. She turned down numerous promotion opportunities that would have meant more money. My dad is a retired factory worker. He got a degree in accounting after leaving the military. But then decided he liked factory work more. He also turned down plenty of promotions and overtime opportunities. My barber in his 50s closed his shop two additional days a week after he started dating so he could spend more time with his significant other. People make life decisions all of the time to prioritize other facets of life over money.
beastman82 4y ago
I find most of these comments horrifying
oh_sigh 4y ago
Absolutely - my first job out of college I was making more than my mom and dad combined, and I still live a lifestyle more akin to what I was raised with out of choice, even though I have far more money accessible to me. I was writing C programs for free for people when I was 14 back in the late 90s, because I just loved programming, I didn't even have a concept of making a career out of it. I feel extremely overpaid, but I'm not exactly going to complain.