They're both in MCOL suburb areas and are decent names within their own industry, but they're not super popular or tech companies. One is notably higher pay ($110k USD vs $90k) but a lot worse WLB (in person 5 days, 45-50hrs a week, almost no vacation/sick days, notably higher rate of turnover) vs the other co. is hybrid, ~30-35 hours/week, slower moving, and a lot more vacation/sick days overall. Both have decent benefits.
The tech stacks for both companies vary a bit but they're both on the legacy side of things with a lot of work done maintaining old crappy code, also it's really team dependent (I don't know what team I will be on). The caveat for the second lower-paying company is that I will have the chance to try out two different teams for 6 months to see which I like.
My goal is either FAANG or a major tech company within a couple years. I would love the extra money but I also value WLB quite a bit so its either between putting my head down and grinding or trying to enjoy life after uni. The learning opportunities at either company seem to be completely variable depending on which team I get put on.
In my opinion this is the most important question. The best offer probably is the one where you learn more. Usually, it is the one where the most sophisticated team members are in, given that these members are not occupated 100% of the time and you can participate.
It's a hard decision, but if you have no family I'd probably pick the higher paid one. Working more usually means learning more. However, try to find out if the bad WLB leads to a toxic team. This could be very frustrating and even unhealthy in the long run.
"Enjoy life after uni" - you've just started, welcome to the real grind. There are real rewards to be had out here, in any way you desire, if you "work" hard. The fun part is, you can define what "work" means if you play your cards right
This is probably one of the few comments you'll get like this, most people will tell you "enjoy life, etc", so just keep this in mind whatever you decide
At some point if I transition to FAANG/something closer to my ideal, I'd definitely like to grind so I doubt I would have time for much outside of work.
At some point if I transition to FAANG/something closer to my ideal, I'd definitely like to grind so I doubt I would have time for much outside of work.
You don't have to work at a "name-brand" company to have an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding career. Most people don't. Ignore everyone who tells you that the name of the company you work for, or length of your title are what matter in life
How does WLB change over time for most people?
55h/week job because time sucked up by lengthy meetings and status reports.
40h/week job then spend 15h/w spare time learning algorithms and design interviews.
Prepping for interviews outside of work would still very much count as "grinding" in my opinion.