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Should You Work in Big Tech as a Software Engineer? Deep Dive into WLB

Big tech vs startups vs remote companies: Compare WLB, politics, career growth, and pay. Meta averages $380k but high stress. Remote offers balance at $120k+.

The European Engineer

June 16, 2025

15 min read

Deep dive into work-life balance for developers, comparing different types of employers.

What The European Engineer Is Actually About

I kind of liked the above description.

The second part is a bit reductive since the whole geo-optimisation topic is only one of the topics I talk about.

But I think the first one hits home: optimising your career from a financial and lifestyle perspective.

This is quite accurate, at the end of the day.

Explore all career paths →

My Content Can Be Seen in 2 Ways

1. Showing Devs in Europe How to Get Serious, High-Paying Careers

Which is somewhat "straightforward" in the US, but more nuanced and harder to do in Europe.

The European tech market is fragmented, with different compensation levels across countries, limited local opportunities in many locations, and less accessible information about career paths.

See comprehensive European tech market overview →

2. Showing Devs How to Avoid Having Their Career Overshadow Their Life

Basically pursuing a career in a way that is functional to leading a fulfilling, fun and happy life.

Instead of sacrificing your personal life just to have a successful tech career (quite common in the US).

The goal is balance: professional success AND personal happiness.

Be Your Personal Career Manager

In the end, the way to achieve the above 2 goals is to be good at navigating the market and getting yourself good deals for your skill set.

And that's what my content should help you with.

In a way, this is the same thing I do in my coaching program - where I try to act as an "agent" and "coach" for my clients.

Check out our career guides for systematic approaches.

My Message Is NOT About "Chilling" as a Dev

I often say that "grinding for big tech promos" ain't great.

But you know what's worse?

Getting paid peanuts for 40 hours of your time every week, with no skills or career growth.

It CAN work for some people, if:

The job is chill
You like your colleagues
Your family has money
You don't care about having a remarkable career

But a lot of you won't like such a job.

So here's some alternatives:

Career Path	Typical Comp (Europe)	WLB Rating	Career Growth	Best For
Big Tech	€120-250k	6/10	Excellent	Career-focused, ambitious engineers
High-paying Remote	€100-180k	8/10	Good	Lifestyle + solid income balance
Mid-tier with WLB	€60-100k	9/10	Moderate	Work-life balance prioritizers
HFT/Finance	€150-400k	4/10	Specialized	High earners willing to grind
"Fake Job" (<10h/week)	€30-50k	10/10	Minimal	Minimalists with low expenses

I wouldn't want young devs to misunderstand my content and take it as an excuse to be complacent in life.

I want you to be happy.

Slaving away for corporations won't make you very happy.

But renting out a large part of your life to employers that barely pay your bills is not better.

At the end of the day, it's about:

Finding the right balance for you
Having enough leverage to land a great job (difficult to achieve without putting in hard and smart work)

Therefore, ultimately, my recommendation is to:

Put in the work. Get a good deal out of it.

💪 💪 🌴 🌴

Big Tech Good or Big Tech Bad?

I've worked both in and outside Big Tech.

What's better?

IMO there's no clear winner.

Big Tech Companies Are Great For

Benefit	Why It Matters	Example
Learnings	Work with cutting-edge tech and talented engineers	Building distributed systems at Google scale
Career Growth	Clear ladder, promotions, mentorship	IC4 → IC5 → IC6 progression with $50k+ jumps
Pay	Top of market compensation	€150-250k Europe, $300-600k US
CV Branding	Opens doors for rest of career	"Ex-Google" gets you interviews everywhere
Infrastructure	Best tools, unlimited compute, proper processes	No fighting with broken CI/CD or AWS bills

Browse big tech jobs →

But They Can Be Less Good For

Downside	Reality	Impact
WLB	Depends heavily on team/org	Some teams 35h/week, others 60h/week
Politics	Performance reviews, promotion committees	Energy spent on visibility not just delivery
Competitiveness	Competing with top engineers globally	Layoffs target "middle performers"
Bureaucracy	Lots of process, meetings, approvals	Your brilliant idea takes 6 months to ship
Location Constraints	Often require on-site or hybrid	Harder to leverage geo-arbitrage

Companies Outside of Big Tech Can Be Good For

Advantages:

Better WLB (especially at mid-tier European companies)
More authentic and less political work relationships
Stability (less frequent layoffs in non-tech companies)
Ownership and impact (your code affects real users immediately)

But Can Also Have Downsides:

Less talented colleagues (can slow your learning)
Slower career growth (flatter orgs, fewer promotion opportunities)
Older culture (caring about your working hours or dress code instead of your output)
Legacy tech (maintaining 10-year-old Java monolith instead of learning modern stack)
Lower compensation (€60-90k vs €150k+ at big tech)

This is a broad categorisation - it's not as simple as "big tech vs non big tech."

But understanding if you want a big tech job can be useful, because these jobs require a specific type of preparation.

In general, this would be my recommendation:

Study the market
Learn about your preferences, values and work style
Create a list of target companies and roles
Build strategies to land such jobs

See our skills pattern analysis framework for a systematic approach.

Breaking Down Company Categories

I mentioned how big tech vs not big tech is a broad and not so accurate categorisation.

Let me expand.

What I Mean By "Big Tech Companies"

Tech companies (whose core product is tech, and where engineers are first class citizens) with:

Lots of funding and/or revenue
Large market capitalisation (billion-dollar companies)
Top of the market pay for engineers

They are attractive because they usually:

Develop cutting edge tech
Employ a large number of talented engineers
Pay very well
Give your CV some valuable branding

Examples: Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Databricks, Snowflake, Stripe

Find big tech jobs in Europe →

High-Paying Remote Companies

With that said, there are many other companies that can offer a lot of the goods that big tech can offer, but without some of their downsides (such as no WFH/remote or excessive politics and "performance reviews' scaremongering").

The remote companies in eurotoptechjobs.com are great examples.

Yet, these younger and smaller remote-friendly companies might fall short in some cases when compared to big tech companies:

Factor	Big Tech	Remote Startups/Scaleups
WLB	Variable (team-dependent)	Usually good, but some startups worse than FAANG
Brand	Universal recognition	Growing recognition in tech, less outside
Stability	More stable (but layoffs happen)	Higher risk, but often treat people better
Compensation	€150-250k Europe	€100-180k Europe
Learning	World-class at scale	Often more hands-on, full-stack

WLB nuance: A lot of big techs can have very good WLB. It's essential to choose the right team and org when joining.

There are usually tradeoffs regarding WLB and career growth:

Meta: Great for career growth, not so good for WLB
Cisco, Oracle: Opposite - great WLB, slower career growth
Amazon, Google: Both options based on the team

Blind is a great place to figure out these aspects, hearing directly from people working in these companies.

Mid-Tier Companies with Great WLB

Other great options in terms of employment are companies that offer mid-level pay (less than big tech but still €50-100k+ depending on the location) while giving great WLB and work flexibility.

Examples:

Established European tech companies
Non-tech companies with solid engineering teams (banks, insurance, logistics)
Government/public sector tech roles (surprisingly good in some countries)
Consultancies (variable, but some offer great balance)

Good for:

Parents with young children
People pursuing side projects
Engineers who want to coast while recovering from burnout
Those prioritizing life outside work

Trade-offs:

Lower compensation
Slower skill development
Less impressive CV
Harder to re-enter competitive market later

High-Frequency Trading Firms

Engineering jobs in high-frequency trading firms offer:

Aspect	Reality
Compensation	€150-400k+ (highest in Europe)
WLB	Poor (long hours, high pressure)
Learning	Specialized (low-latency systems, performance optimization)
Exit Options	Limited to similar firms or big tech infra roles
Interesting Work	Very technical but narrow

Examples: Jane Street, Optiver, IMC, Flow Traders, Citadel

Best for: Engineers who love performance optimization, can handle pressure, and want to maximize earnings for 5-10 years then exit.

How to Choose Your Path

Here's a decision framework:

Choose Big Tech If:

You're early/mid career (0-7 years)
You want to maximize learning and CV building
You're willing to grind for 3-5 years
Location flexibility isn't critical
You want clear career progression

Choose Remote High-Paying If:

You're mid/senior career (5+ years)
You value location independence
You want good comp without politics
You're comfortable with async work
You prefer work-life balance

Choose Mid-Tier WLB If:

You have family responsibilities
You're recovering from burnout
You have side projects/businesses
Compensation isn't primary concern
You want predictable 9-5 schedule

Choose HFT If:

You love low-level optimization
You want highest possible comp
You can handle pressure
You're fine with narrow specialization
You plan to exit in 5-10 years

Check our top 3 career paths analysis for deeper comparison.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Is big tech still worth it after the 2023-2024 layoffs?

Yes, but with adjusted expectations and strategy. What changed: Job security myth shattered (Meta laid off 11k, Google 12k, Amazon 27k), hiring slowed dramatically (50-70% fewer openings), performance pressure increased (PIPs more common), remote work reduced (RTO mandates). What didn't change: Still top compensation (€150-250k Europe, $300-600k US), still best learning environments, still most prestigious CV builder, still hiring (just more selectively). New strategy: (1) Treat it as 3-5 year CV-building and skill-building stint, not career for life, (2) Save aggressively (40-50% of income) - don't rely on job security, (3) Build exit options (side projects, network, marketable skills), (4) Choose teams carefully (talk to current employees on Blind about team stability), (5) Plan transition to remote or stable role after building big tech CV. Bottom line: Big tech is valuable training ground, not safe harbor. Use it strategically, don't get complacent.

How do I choose the right team within a big tech company to optimize WLB?

Team selection is CRUCIAL - can mean difference between 35h and 65h workweeks with same salary. Research tactics: (1) Use Blind - search "[Company] [Team] WLB" to find honest reviews from employees, (2) Ask during interview - "What are typical working hours?", "How often do people work weekends?", "What's on-call like?", (3) Talk to team members - request informal chats with 2-3 team members (not just your interviewer), (4) Red flags: Understaffed teams, aggressive roadmaps, words like "fast-paced" or "move fast", recent departures, (5) Green flags: Established product, sustainable pace, low attrition, manager who respects boundaries. General patterns: Mature products > new initiatives, Europe offices > US offices, infrastructure > product teams (for WLB), older companies > newly acquired, large teams > small teams. At offer stage, negotiate for specific team/org. Don't be afraid to decline and re-interview for different team. One smart move can save you years of suffering.

Can I transition from mid-tier company to big tech after several years?

Yes, but requires intentional preparation. The challenge: Big tech interviews are notoriously difficult (LeetCode, system design, behavioral) and if you've been at chill company, you're rusty. Success path: (1) Build side projects with modern tech - show you can work with scale/complexity, (2) Study intensely for 3-6 months - LeetCode daily, system design practice, mock interviews, (3) Get referrals - use LinkedIn to find connections at target companies (referrals 3x your chances), (4) Target scale-ups first - slightly easier interviews than FAANG, still impressive CV (e.g., companies in our job board), (5) Be strategic about timing - apply when you're truly ready, not before. Reality check: The gap widens over time. After 2-3 years at chill company, transition is doable with 3-6 months prep. After 5-7 years, it's much harder. If big tech is your goal, don't wait too long. Alternative: Target senior roles at scale-ups rather than FAANG - easier interviews, still great comp (€100-150k).

What's the actual difference in take-home pay between big tech and remote companies?

Less than you think when you factor in location and taxes. Example comparison (Senior Engineer, 7 years experience): Google Zurich: €180k total comp → €115k after tax (36%) → €55k living costs → €60k saved (33% savings rate), Remote startup from Poland: €120k total comp → €105k after tax (12%) → €30k living costs → €75k saved (62.5% savings rate). Remote actually saves MORE despite 33% lower gross comp. Meta London: £150k → £100k after tax → £65k living costs → £35k saved (23% savings rate), Remote from Portugal: €130k → €104k after tax (20%) → €45k living costs → €59k saved (45% savings rate). Pattern: Big tech wins on absolute comp in isolation, but remote + LCOL often wins on take-home AND lifestyle. The key variable is location strategy. If you can get big tech to let you work remote from LCOL, you win on all dimensions. See our financial calculator for your specific situation.

Should I stay at a comfortable mid-tier job or push for competitive roles?

Depends on your life stage, financial situation, and personal values - there's no universal answer. Stay at comfortable mid-tier if: (1) You have young kids (0-5 years) and family time is priority, (2) You're financially comfortable (€50k+ saved, low expenses), (3) You're recovering from burnout and need stability, (4) You have side projects/business that need energy, (5) You're approaching retirement and don't need career growth. Push for competitive roles if: (1) You're early career (<5 years) and need skill development, (2) Your savings are inadequate (<€30k saved, living paycheck to paycheck), (3) You're bored and under-challenged (kills motivation over time), (4) You want career optionality (easier to go from high-tier to mid-tier than reverse), (5) You're ambitious and will regret not trying. Hybrid approach (recommended for many): Stay comfortable now, but maintain skills (side projects, learning) so the door stays open. When life circumstances change (kids older, more energy), you can still make a move. The dangerous path is staying comfortable while skills atrophy and financial pressure grows. Be honest about whether you're strategically choosing comfort or just avoiding challenges.

How important is company prestige vs actual work in career development?

Both matter, but at different career stages and for different goals. Company prestige matters most for: (1) Early career (0-5 years) - your CV needs credibility, big names open doors, (2) Career pivots - changing industries/roles is easier with prestigious brand, (3) Future job search - "Ex-Google" gets you interviews everywhere. Actual work matters most for: (1) Skill development - prestigious company with boring work won't teach you much, (2) Job satisfaction - you'll spend 40-60h/week doing this work, (3) Long-term specialization - deep expertise in valuable domain beats generic big tech experience. Optimal strategy by career stage: Years 0-3: Prioritize prestige (big tech, unicorn) - CV building matters most, Years 3-7: Balance both - seek interesting work at respectable companies, Years 7+: Prioritize work quality - you have credibility, now optimize for learning/enjoyment. Reality check: A boring job at Google is often better than exciting work at no-name company for CAREER purposes (even if worse for satisfaction). Your career is 40 years; spending 3-5 years at prestigious-but-boring for long-term optionality can be strategic. But don't sacrifice 10+ years of work quality just for a brand name.