I Used 4 Methods at Meta to Develop My Wage by $275,000 in 2 Years

This as-told-to essay relies on a dialog with Krishna Ganeriwal, a senior engineer at Meta in California.

Meta dubbed 2023 its “yr of effectivity” and made a number of modifications to the corporate’s construction, together with flattening administration layers and shedding about 10,000 workers. This interview has been edited for size and readability. Enterprise Insider has verified Ganeriwal’s employment historical past and compensation.

I moved to the US in 2021 for my grasp’s, after working for 4 years as a software program engineer at Texas Devices in India.

In the summertime earlier than I graduated from the College of Wisconsin-Madison, I had the chance to intern with Meta. I liked the size of the tasks the corporate labored on, and I returned to the corporate full time as a software program engineer in 2023 — Meta’s “yr of effectivity.”

Listed below are 4 methods I used to get promoted and develop my wage from $200,000 to about $500,000 within the 18 months since I joined full time.

1. Swim with the tide

When firm administration is working towards a theme, which was effectivity within the case of Meta, I see it as a direct trace for what my priorities must be. I attempted to align myself with the identical thought of effectivity over scaling and progress in any respect prices, which was the mindset many tech firms had beforehand.

That meant being attentive to my data gaps and upskilling in order that I may also help construct extra cost-aware infrastructure. Reorganizations and layoffs are instances of main price reducing, and it could be swimming in opposition to the tide to insist on engaged on time-consuming or costly tasks.

I’ve discovered it useful to have an open ear to what firm leaders are speaking about at quarterly conferences and always be certain that I’m in the course of —or no less than the periphery of — these priorities.

2. Get able to reprioritize

Simply since you’ve been lucky to outlive a spherical of layoffs, it does not imply there’s nothing so that you can change.

I inform myself {that a} layoff means I’ve to be able to be thrown into ambiguous areas and resolve issues, regardless of constraints resembling fewer colleagues and fewer sources.

It additionally means I’ve to be open to pivoting and reprioritizing — dropping what I am engaged on for the time being and switching priorities, even when it is quickly.

3. Do not put your progress within the backseat

I’ve discovered it useful to separate conversations about layoffs and the corporate’s efficiency from these about my profession progress.

Regardless of a number of rounds of layoffs on the firm, I stored having conversations with my supervisor about setting new targets for myself and dealing towards them. I additionally took steps to overcommunicate and stay seen to my supervisor and others in my crew as a result of it performs an vital position throughout efficiency opinions.

4. Be open to ‘underdog’ issues

One underrated technique that helped me land promotions was searching for issues and duties nobody was prepared to work on, as a result of they had been doubtless busy chasing a bit of a giant, thrilling mission.

Previously yr, I have been open to being loaned out to different groups or working alone on some tasks. I’ve discovered that these underdog tasks pay again in the long term as a result of they gave me experience that only a few folks have.

For instance, when everybody on the firm was engaged on effectivity and AI fashions, I centered on uncared for engineering issues that leveraged each these areas.