Need guidance about joining Qualcomm
I am a deep learning research engineer at an early stage autonomous driving startup and I just got an offer for a senior deep learning engineer in the autonomous team at Qualcomm. I am confused about it as compensation is low compared to industry standards but overall a bit higher from my current salary. (The base is quite low, but RSU's make up for the rest). The work is same what I do, so that will be nice.
I can either keep looking for other opportunities while staying at the startup or take this. I am not too happy with the offer but it is the best I have right now. I will be shifting to San Diego from NY and will also take a major hit in my social life.
Any suggestion on how the culture at Qualcomm is and how their machine learning and AI teams are? I am really confused if it will be worth it.
![Qualcomm is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware.[3] It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4G, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA and WCDMA mobile communications standards. Qualcomm was established in 1985 by Irwin M. Jacobs and six other co-founders.](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fqualcomm_logo.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3D5e125363-d736-47a3-ac7b-ffa407394254&w=3840&q=75){kind=logo}
Discussion
(2 comments)- 3
12 days agoEngineering Manager at MistplayMy two cents: a major hit to your social life for an ambiguously better offer does not sound worth it.
- 1
12 days agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroFirst off: You should negotiate the offer. Use your current compensation as leverage. Give them the impression that you still like your current job and that they need to pry you away from it (i.e. make a more compelling offer). Check out our negotiation resources here: [Taro Top 10] Pay Negotiation
Aside from that, I consider Qualcomm a good company with a lot of history, but the pay isn't too competitive, especially when compared to the upper echelon of FAANG. It's an old company that I personally don't consider on the bleeding edge anymore. 43% stock growth over the past year with 2% dividend is nothing to scoff at, but you can probably do better.
As Ryan mentioned, social life is very important and you shouldn't toss away relationships for a marginally better job. Even if it's a substantially better job, be careful. There's more good thoughts here: "Where should I start my career as a SWE/SDE?"
