I wonder why 7 of your comments have been killed (dead)

maybe it's the new HN account or something?

(submitter) Maybe. I have emailed the moderators to see if the comments can be restored.

They were good comments, I was able to read them (barely) since I have dead comments enabled. Thanks for investing the time.

I don't mean this to be a callout, but what do you mean you led teams as an L4? Even if you were unofficially leading them, you get caught in the politics trap of not being able to claim any credit for having done so, because that means the higher levels in the workstream weren't doing their jobs, and you can't write that down or say it outloud. This is a problem in every hierarchical organization, and learning how to navigate it is unfortunately a part of the leveling process in itself when you are starting from a lower level versus being hired into a higher one.

Did you get a pay rise moving externally? One very negative thing I have found in my career: Exactly zero internal moves come with a pay rise, but nearly all external moves come with a pay rise. The choice is easy for me.