u/Thinkinaboutu wrote (the comment Michael replied to):
>However, an entry level FAANG job is probably better than a non-entry level "non-FAANG-tier" job. Just curious, why do you say that? I'm planning on attending CS in October. After the program, you'd recommend trying to get an entry level job at a FAANG type company rather then
u/michaelnovati replied · ★ FEATURED
Yeah there are a small number of people who get FAANG jobs out of Codesmith and I would strive for that over a higher title, or even higher base salary.
We're splitting hairs because both paths are better than a lot of other paths haha.
The benefits of FAANG-level over other companies:
1. Generally higher talent bar and experience level of coworkers, so you learn from stronger engineers.
2. More structured ramp-up. A lot of FAANG level companies have bootcamps/onboarding/very structured rampup, so you learn more faster.
3. Exposure to some leading edge infrastructure and industry leading ways of solving and scaling that you might not see at smaller companies.
4. Generally more users and larger scale products. You can't learn how to build product for a billion people without having a billion people using something.
5. Engineers have more influence over decisions. It's just more fun when you can to meaningfully contribute to decisions, rather than be told what to do from a different business unit.
6. RE: compensation. FAANG companies compensate in stock and your compensation accelerates quickly if you perform well, much faster than anywhere else. I was an E7 at FB after 4 years from school: https://www.levels.fyi/?compare=Facebook&track=Software%20Engineer
Not all of these are the case all of the time, but in the ideal cases these are the benefits.