Hi,

I've just accepted an IC5 SWE offer at Meta London, TC ~230k$ (8 yoe). According to levels.fyi, this is in the very bottom percentile. Despite rather good interviews, I came from a much much lower TC job (~95k$) and had no competing offers. I did 2 rounds of negotiation but it didn't change a ton (it was closer to 215-220k$).

Of course, I'm very happy I got in, and it's already a great salary etc., but being a human, I don't want to be in the lowest percentile for this job/place/level/YOE. My question is then: what's the best play (medium term) for me to optimize my compensation:

Should I try to work hard to get high ratings, aim for a promotion to E6 etc, or is it pointless to try to optimize with this starting TC instead of getting another job at a higher entry salary?

I mean working alright and finding another FAANG+ job, where I'd come with a competing offer and higher expectations.

Thanks all for your help!

PS: FYI the recruiters told me Levels' figures were very inaccurate (despite the large sample size and confidence their benchmark tool shows) and it was rather good for no competing offer.