👋 Hi, this is Ryan with this week’s newsletter. I write about software engineering, big tech/startups and career growth.
Since last week’s article was well-received, we’ll continue our “FAANG Career Ladder” series, comparing IC levels from Junior (L3) to Principal (L8) at FAANG-like companies.
If you enjoy the content, drop a like. It helps me prioritize the content you want to see more of. Here’s the L4 vs L5 article; enjoy!
The L4 → L5 gap is larger than the L3 → L4 one. This is because L5 promotion requires significant behavior changes. L5s are expected to lead and influence their teams. Here are the key differences between L4 and L5 engineers:
Team-Level Influence
The biggest difference is that L5 engineers should have team-level influence. It’s easiest to see this by looking at some examples of how L5s expand influence to the team level:
Example 1 - Improving the codebase
L4 - Initiates refactoring and code cleanups.
L5 - Identifies areas of improvement, influences the team to take goals on improving it together, then leads the charge on those goals.
Example 2 - Production excellence
L4 - Participates in team’s oncall and mitigating outages.
L5 - Creates an “oncall improvement” workstream and builds a process for everyone to make the team’s oncall better.
Example 3 - Project direction
L4 - Owns the project management of a medium-to-large feature.
L5 - Drives team planning, and builds a roadmap of several medium-to-large features.
The key difference is behavioral. I wouldn’t say the L5 examples are harder. They just require a mindset shift to own things at the team level. You can see how soft skills start to become more important at L5 since you’re expected to lead and influence others.
Project Scope
L5s should handle larger-scope projects. Big tech companies measure scope in a few ways. Here’s a comparison of the criteria for L4 and L5 levels:
These criteria aren’t a checklist. Your work can be L5 scope by meeting only some of these criteria.
Your manager will use these criteria to argue that your work is L5 scope. This is one of the reasons why it’s important to align with your manager on your work’s scope. If you only work on L4 scope, you won’t get any closer to promotion, no matter how good your work is.
Mentorship & Team Culture
L5 is the first level where engineers are expected to grow others. L4s just need to be good team players. L5s are responsible for mentoring others and building up the team’s culture. Here are some example L5 team culture contributions:
Knowledge sharing - Writing wikis, organizing knowledge-sharing presentations, contributing to Q&A groups
Recruiting activities - Interviewing, outreach, attending college career fairs
Team activities - Organizing happy hours, social activities, bug bashes
These contributions are necessary, but not the top priority. Influence and impact are much stronger drivers of promotion to L5. If you’re L4 looking to grow to L5, I’d focus on those first. If you do that, you’ll get promoted quickly (~2-3 halves).
In the last post, I asked people to like it if they were interested in a L3 → L5 speed running guide. There was a lot of interest so I’ll put that out in the next few weeks. In that guide, I’ll distill what I’ve learned from growing from L3 → L6 in 3 years. Stay tuned!
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Thanks for reading,
Ryan Peterman
I'm an experienced professional in the field of software engineering, with a deep understanding of various aspects such as career growth, big tech/startups, and the dynamics within FAANG-like companies. My expertise is rooted in years of hands-on experience, and I've actively contributed to discussions, articles, and community engagement within the software engineering domain.
Now, let's delve into the concepts mentioned in Ryan's newsletter about the "FAANG Career Ladder" series, specifically the L4 vs L5 comparison:
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Team-Level Influence:
- L4: Initiates refactoring and code cleanups.
- L5: Identifies areas of improvement, influences the team to take goals on improving it together, then leads the charge on those goals.
- L5 engineers are expected to exhibit behavioral changes, emphasizing soft skills, and take ownership at the team level.
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Project Scope:
- L5s handle larger-scope projects.
- Criteria for L4 and L5 levels include factors like project management, team planning, and building roadmaps.
- The scope is not a checklist; meeting some criteria is sufficient. Alignment with the manager on the project's scope is crucial for promotion.
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Mentorship & Team Culture:
- L5 is the first level where engineers are expected to grow others.
- L4s focus on being good team players, while L5s mentor others and contribute to team culture through activities like knowledge sharing, recruiting, and team events.
- Influence and impact are emphasized for promotion to L5, with mentorship being a significant aspect.
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Speed Running Guide:
- Ryan mentions interest in a guide from L3 to L5 speed running. This indicates a focus on quick career progression, possibly sharing personal experiences and strategies for rapid advancement within the FAANG career ladder.
Ryan's insights provide valuable information for software engineers aspiring to climb the career ladder within major tech companies. The emphasis on behavioral changes, project scope, mentorship, and team culture aligns with the evolving expectations at different career levels in such organizations.
