Are there YoE requirements to get mid-level/senior-loops?
I heard that it’s common practice to bucket engineers into different loops based on YoE and not title regardless of company. For example, if you hit E6 at Meta with 3YoE (which is rare but possible) and you want to jump to an equivalent company (Apple, Amazon, Databtricks, Stripe etc.), they’d only level you as a mid-level dev since the YoE for a mid-level is 2-5. A more realistic example is a 3 YoE senior at Meta going to Amazon/Apple. Is this true?
If so, is the only benefit of fast promo just more pay? Since at the end of the day you’re still measured by YoE rather than your actual title when you jump.
PS using Meta as reference since they’re known for fast promo
![Senior Software Engineer [E5] at Meta company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fmeta.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Da7a5bcc0-e178-4b5b-b71e-09bf6c6aefae&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
![Mid-Level Software Engineer [SDE 2] at Amazon company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Famazon_logo.jpg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Dff5f2302-08be-43bc-b7b1-d381ba508d99&w=48&q=75){kind=logo}
Discussion
(2 comments)- 0
a month agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroYes. However, the requirements are often malleable. I have a lot of mentees who grew lightning fast at Meta, and for the most part, they aren't being downleveled (at least at the companies that matter). In the current market though, companies are enforcing these YOE walls more aggressively.
Level bars are roughly like this (these are bare minimums):
- Junior: At least 1 internship
- Mid-level: 2+ YOE
- Senior: 5+ YOE
- Staff: 8+ YOE
Many companies have a higher bar and are doing 3, 6, 10 for mid/senior/staff.
- 0a month agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
There was actually an internal wiki at Meta that talked about level equivalence across companies. It was really interesting because it was a commentary on the legitimacy of promotions at various companies, and what that meant for the caliber of the engineer.
What that means for your question: getting promoted twice in 3 years of experience at Google is not the same as getting promoted 3 times at a no-name startup.
Meta has well-regarded in the industry, so a Staff Engineer at Meta would at least get a senior offer at the companies you mentioned. (If not, there's no way they'd take the offer since it'd be a huge compensation drop.)
Having the promotion at Google will carry a lot more weight for your next job, even if you're technically a lower level, compared to the startup that has an unknown pedigree.
