Should I stay at Salesforce India as a staff engineer or move back to the UK to be a Software Engineer 2 (mid-level) at Spotify?

Question

Before I was at Amazon in Cambridge, England. I came to enjoy the quality of life there, but recent changes made me switch to Salesforce in India. The work-life balance here is good, but even as a staff engineer, I’m having trouble finding scope - I own just a small piece of the overall system my team’s responsible for.

I was able to recently get an offer from Spotify for a UK office, which expires in a month. However, it’s for Software Engineer 2, a level below their senior level. This isn’t ideal as one of my goals is to be a Staff engineer at a reputable company.

Should I stay at Salesforce where I’m already a Staff level and have solid work-life balance or move back to the UK to work for Spotify?

Alex Chiou · Accepted Answer

If growth is a priority, Spotify seems like a better option as it’s a younger, consumer-facing company with a much smaller engineering base and your current Salesforce situation seems difficult to find scope in. Aside from that, it really depends on your priorities given how distinct the offers are, for different levels at different companies in different geographies. Figure out what’s truly important to you Level is important, but don’t overvalue it as levels are not standardized. Staff at company X will often translate to a level below staff at company Y and Z. Staff is the level where sustainability becomes an issue. I know a lot of engineers who chose to stay at senior instead of moving to staff to preserve consistency and work/life balance.

Should I stay at Salesforce India as a staff engineer or move back to the UK to be a Software Engineer 2 (mid-level) at Spotify?

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