How long does it to convert from contract to hire at FAANGMULA companies?
I've been interviewed both for contractor and full time senior software engineer roles at Meta and Apple (by 3rd party recruiters), I have friends at both companies and prefer to interview with recruiters/hiring directors that are native to the company (as opposed to 3rd party). How long does it take to convert from contract to full time?
For Meta, they told me it would take 2 years (which I thought was long since even other entry level programs I heard there would take 1.5 years - 18 months to convert). Most other places other friends get hired full time right away with stock options. I'm easing my way in contracting after leaving my previous company burned out, so don't mind, but waiting 2 years sounds pretty long and I think starting full-time (FT) right away is the better call, but not sure what the standard practice is for FAANGMULA companies.
![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)- 25 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
I would not assume that you can ever convert from contractor to full-time. Contractors are 2nd class citizens at tech companies like Meta and Google (see this Quora post).
You're treated as an expendable resource, and contractors are not invited to critical meetings like all-hands. That means contractors don't get the same level of information, which means it's hard to find opportunity, which means it's harder to earn trust.
You can still earn trust by consistently doing the work you're assigned on time with high quality, but going into a contracting gig with an expectation that you'll convert to full-time is dangerous.
I'd much prefer that you apply to full-time roles directly (working with company recruiters/hiring managers as you say). You'll also get paid more this way.
Very relevant discussion: My company does not want contractors to lead new features
- 1
5 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroYep, if you can start at a company full-time, you should definitely do it, especially at FAANG. There is a huge difference in prestige level between telling people you were a contractor at FAANG vs. an FTE at FAANG.
I have seen contractors convert to FTE (one of them was my mentees!), but it's a long and arduous process. The majority of contractors aren't able to do it, it's maybe a 10% - 25% success rate.
When it comes to burnout, FTEs are indeed more susceptible to it, but you can definitely mitigate it by finding a good team, setting clear boundaries, working efficiently, and just following the Taro advice in general: [Taro Top 10] Time Management And Productivity
