[bartwr]

You don't understand the Silicon Valley grind mindset :) I personally agree with you - I am happy working on interesting stuff, getting a good salary, and don't need a promo. Most times I switched jobs it was a temporary lowering of my total comp and often the level. But most Googlers are obsessed with levels/promotion, talk about it, and the frustration is real. They are hyper ambitious and see level as their validation.

And if you join as a PhD fresh grad (RS or SWE), L4 salary is ok, but not amazing compared to costs of living there. From L6 on it starts to be really really good.

[nomad_horse]

I assure you, before the LLM race, those research shops (DM, FAIR) had many directors that didn't contribute to any product whatsoever.

[david-gpu]

> I am happy working on interesting stuff, getting a good salary, and don't need a promo

People who don't contribute to the bottom line are the first to get a PIP or to be laid off. Effectively the better performers are subsidizing their salary, until the company sooner or later decides to cut dead wood.