Promotion Is Underrated And The True Foundation Of Your Pay And Career

Here's the full 2 hour masterclass on maximizing your pay in tech, which is where this clip is taken from.

Core points from the video:

• In a lot of companies, promotion isn't meaningful, both in terms of growth and pay increase. However, promotion is extremely powerful when you're working at a top-tier company like FAANG.
• In a good environment, promotion is the most organic option to increase your total compensation as it means that your actual skill and increased pay are actually correlated with one another.
  • If you get promoted at a FAANG/Big Tech company, this sets the foundation for future opportunities as you will now be put at this level at least 95%+ of the time. For example, if you become a senior engineer [L5] at Google, it is very unlikely that your next company will put you below senior.
  • It's also crucial to remember that at FAANG/Big Tech, the expectations are quite real and quite high. By getting promoted to your level, this means that you are actually able to perform at this level, as opposed to the scenario where you negotiated an up-level via a job switch where you might be dangerously over-leveling yourself.
• The problem with doing the interview prep and job switching grind is that you're not actually growing as a software engineer during that time. There is a huge disconnect between interview skill and actual skill, especially with data structures & algorithms (DSA).

If you're having trouble with your promotion, we can offer you personalized support with Taro Premium. We have gotten software engineers promoted at lightning speeds from L3 (junior) to L6 (staff) at top companies like Meta, Robinhood, and Pinterest.

For additional promotion resources:

• What's the Difference Between A Senior And Staff Engineer?
• What are the expectations of a strong senior engineer?
• Expectations at different levels? (Junior vs Mid)