Having worked at Amazon and Microsoft, I can tell you that even after you accept the offer, the challenge of growing and making an impact is the real struggle. At Big Tech, you have the opportunity for fast growth, but it's not guaranteed, and you will be competing with very talented people on getting high-visibility projects.

These types of firms will always be around. If you're unemployed, focus on building a side-project (specifically focusing on UX and Product skills; I would recommend reading "Inspired" by Marty Cagan). Use what you know to show what your potential.

When you land a job at a smaller firm, focus on getting high-visibility projects. I left Microsoft to do just that.

Lead Software Engineer at Vista

Atif Mansoor

I want to comment on your thought that fulfillment is tied to career growth. That's true to an extent; if someone is passionate about their product/service, they are more likely to drive results and make a business impact.

On the other hand, it may be "boring" things that actually cause you to grow and level-up. "Engineering excellence" is a good example: writing documentation, improving on-call experience, finding gaps in processes, reducing tech-debt and so on. Especially at a senior level, you will not achieve growth simply by completing the tasks assigned to you. You need to be pro-active in finding gaps  and problems, getting buy-in from the team, and executing on that. These can often be tasks that people find "boring" or "unfulfilling".