> but then I got an offer from a big tech as "Staff" level with almost double
I've always heard the opposite ( staff at startup = senior at big tech )
how did you convince them to interview for staff ? were you staff before startup ?
or were you upleveled to staff after the interview process.
I was Senior before interviews, I was mainly targeting Staff level when I was interviewing.
No convincing needed, I had enough experience to get to Staff level. With Startup I asked them for level up but they said they had limited number of positions and all they can do is Senior at a higher end of it, and can't do Staff.
I worked at the startup for a few months before the other offer was finalized. So I have a chance to get to know what it feels to work at the startup as well.
Re:Passion over Profits
by scarface_74 on Thursday August 14, 2025 @01:07PM
(#44902943)
I understand your decision and if I were at a different point in my life (I am 51, grown kids, low fixed expenses), I would have made the same decision. But Iām at a point in life that I would rather get a daily anal probe with a cactus than ever work at BigTech (again) even for twice the money.
Because it was a higher level position I had to deal with larger scope problems, I started learning about strategic thinking and dealing with large number of teams and learned to lead and be a thought leader. The people are also smart and turned out to be super nice and helpful and used every opportunity to help me grow. Now when I look back, I don't think I would be happier in the position where I thought it matched my passion, as the other unlocked a new point of view and a different perspective and opportunities. So aside from the money and benefits, make sure you are choosing the one that benefits you the most from different angles, passion and salary is just one angle.