For a lot of people the only option is to jump jobs. At small and mid size companies, it's literally not possible to have the impact of an L6+ Google equivalent

For a lot of people the only option is to jump jobs. At small and mid size companies, it's literally not possible to have the impact of an L6+ Google equivalent most of the time. Rough for people not working in the tech industry and wanting to get in, but that's why you get downleveled and honestly it's usually appropriate even if your previous title was staff and now you're a SWE2 or senior.