Should I actively look for jobs or focus on promotion?
I started working as an entry level engineer at my current company a little over a year ago.
I'm working with my manager to aim for promo in this next half (cycle would take place at the end of the year) to go from L3 -> L4. We both feel reasonably confident about putting up a packet. I also really like my manager and my team. I feel that I'm learning a lot and have decent WLB. Additionally, the L4 compensation range at my current company appears to be near top of market.
However, the L4 -> L5 promo timeline at my current company appears to be somewhat slow (2.5-3 years) and there's always some risk that the promotion doesn't go through this cycle.
Is it worth passively looking for jobs on the side to cross promote to L4 or should I just focus that time and energy on building a stronger promo packet for this half?
![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}
![Entry-Level Software Engineer [L3] at Google company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fgoogle.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3D780356ef-3efc-4728-9eb4-d909b75bb4a6&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Discussion
(2 comments)- 2
4 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroSo you have:
- Good manager who supports your promotion
- Good teammates
- Competitive pay
- Work-life balance
I don't have full context here, but leaving this job (or even just devoting substantial energy pursuing that potential) seems like a bad idea 🤔. Most engineers would kill to be in your position.
However, the L4 -> L5 promo timeline at my current company appears to be somewhat slow (2.5-3 years) and there's always some risk that the promotion doesn't go through this cycle.
2.5 to 3 years is not slow for L4 to L5 - It's actually quite fast, especially given the market. Even when the market was good, mid-level engineers at Amazon and Google often took 4+ years to make the jump to senior.
I highly recommend the promotion course - It seems like you should just ride this gravy train while it lasts: [Course] Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer
- 04 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
I would stick around at least until you get the L4 (mid-level) promotion, since you almost have it. This has two benefits:
- If you want to come back to the company, you will come in as at least L4
- For other interviews, you effectively set the floor to be L4 (sounds like your company is paying top of market and likely to have a good brand)
However, 2.5-3 years for the subsequent promotion is a long time. First lock in the promo, then explore external opportunities where you could grow faster.
One note on that, though: if you decide to interview, make that an active decision rather than passive. You ideally want 5+ interviews lined up to increase the chances of getting multiple offers and gaining leverage.
