How long does it typically take for benefits and stock options to kick in at FAANGMULA and VC-backed startups?
I interviewed with Meta yesterday for a more junior role (I'm actually more senior) and they said it would kick in immediately for fertility in September upon starting a role with a program which is 18 month long (short term employee program) STE program that converts to Full Time Employment (FTE). They said stock would come then, but not upon start in September.
They said they would allow employees (STE/FTE) options to pick the perks of 4, to individually itemize 4-5 choices to make between medical coverage, which as a section on fertility and co-pays for expenses at the maternity level.
- Healthcare
- Dental
- Vision
- Therapy Stipend
- Wellness Stipend
- Family leave,
- PTO and time away benefits,
- Financial benefits (401k matching, financial coaching/planning)
How long does it take for benefits AND stock (vesting) to kick in typically at any FAANGMULA or OpenAI type of startup company? I personally don't want to wait until September, am likely to accept a more senior role at Apple FTE of course or other AI startup companies where these benefits AND stock kick in right away at an L4-L5 to L6 level depending. That role above it looked like IC4 and I was way overqualified and should be interviewing for at least an L5 position and above.
Discussion
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2 months agoEngineer @ RobinhoodI think you're jumping the gun here. If you haven't ever been at a FAANG or an FAANG-equivalent, your first priority should be getting a offer not nickpicking to figure out the best offer. The benefits at these companies are signficantly better than nearly all other companies, so I'd be happy with any first-time FAANG offer since it's usually a full upgrade relative to non-competitive companies.
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2 months agoMid-Level Software Engineer [OP]Taro CommunityI was just asking when they kick in (start date) as most important thing. That's all.
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2 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroSo I don't know about non-FTE and non-SWE, but for Meta SWE proper, this is how it worked:
- Benefits kicked in immediately - However, I'm unsure about programs like fertility. I imagine all the table-stakes stuff like healthcare just kicks in immediately after you make the elections at pretty much any tech company (not just FAANG).
- RSU grants are 1-quarter (3 month) cliff - This is pretty standard for top-tier companies like FAANG, but not so much outside of the top companies. A lot of companies are still doing 1-year cliff. Meta was actually on 1-year cliff when I joined but quickly changed to 1-quarter cliff (probably in response to Google to stay competitive).
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- 12 months agoMid-Level Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
Yup that makes sense.
Ya it's a program that converted STE to FTE. No worries, personally it was too junior for me to really consider, but was just curious what the typical timeline for benefits to kick in is, as for some people I've heard it's immediate at some companies and others like 3 months just for healthcare (in non-tech corporate companies).
Thanks Alex!
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2 months agoTaro CommunityIt really depends on your immediate needs and options. Employee stock programs at FANG companies will typically have a 4 year vesting schedule with a one-year cliff and possible, not guaranteed, refreshers. STE will typically not enjoy these benefits. Healthcare benefits generally kick in during the period when you onboard.
If what you're saying is:
I personally don't want to wait until September, am likely to accept a more senior role at Apple FTE of course or other AI startup companies where these benefits AND stock kick in right away at an L4-L5 to L6 level depending.
Then I don't see why you should take an STE Meta offer if you are extended one. As Jonathan said, first get the offers before deciding on which company to continue pursuing, otherwise, you're comparing hypothetical offers.
- 02 months agoMid-Level Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
Ya it's a program that converted STE to FTE. No worries, personally it was too junior for me to really consider, but was just curious what the typical timeline for benefits to kick in is, as for some people I've heard it's immediate at some companies and others like 3 months just for healthcare (in non-tech corporate companies).
- 02 months agoTaro Community
as for some people I've heard it's immediate at some companies and others like 3 months just for healthcare (in non-tech corporate companies).
It may be the case that some employees don't start right away or have to wait a few months to get placed in a team (sometimes even getting their offer rescinded due to a hiring freeze). During that period, they are not yet considered an employee.
