Thread regarding Juniper Networks Inc. layoffs

Being a top performer is required but not enough. For me it required two things. First you have to have a role that is critically important to the company and very difficult to replace. There are so many people are I see performing well but their role is unfortunately a commodity. If they left the company a replacement could be found within the week. The second factor, unfortunately, is your manager. I've been at Junper for a while doing the same work and was never recognized. I was just another employee performing a function. My new manager recognized what I was doing and went bat for me. This is key. Recognition in any company is really dependent on your manager as that person is basically your agent. If you get a bad manager your hard work is wasted. There is definitely a component of luck, timing, as well as hard work. The majority of the required factors are completely out of my control. What I've said above is relevant to any company.

@8sfn+19OeegX3 My perf ratings were pretty good AFAIK. Not sure if it was 'top' since the word might mean different things. I think you are right. I probably s— at people skills and never tried to make connections with management. At least for me, the bar for this "selected group" is a lot higher than being a tech lead at FAANG. Glad you guys made to the top.

@8jzt+19OeegX3 Were you a top performer in Juniper? Note that there are lots of good engineers who are not top performers since they are not motivated enough. My guess is for being in this selected group, you definitely need to be a good performer but that is not enough. You probably also need to have good connections, maybe up to AA's level.

So in the "selected group" people have good WLB, off cycle RSU grants that are under NDA, and most importantly the "tenure" that let you be free of PIP/layoffs.

I have worked at FAANG-ish companies since I left juniper, and consistently got above average perf ratings. My current TC is 3 times more than my juniper TC for the same staff equivalent title. Id like to see myself as someone good at tech but obviously I was never good enough to be chosen for this group. So what are the qualifications for this "selected group"? If it is pure tech, people in this group should be able to make far more than an average FAANG engineer at corresponding levels. If it is anything else, how is this not neptism?

Nothing is ever truely anonymous and the specifics of the off cycle grants are under NDA. However, the combined annual RSU refreshers, for the highest performance, is slightly better than the average performance refreshers (or half of top performance) at FANG. The work and hours required is far less than what's required for FANG average perf review and grants. This is solely based on the multiple FANG (and equivalent) offers I've received and explored. YMMV. Also, if you're in this select group you essentially have "tenure" while companies like Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, etc. have constant PIPs. For people who value their time, flexibility, and WLB it's not a bad deal and worth milking until the company goes under.

I was the one who posted this in another thread. In that thread, someone responded by saying that Juniper does give good bonuses+RSU for to performers. If that person is reading this, can you please share how much RSU are you vesting per year? You are anonymous so should be no issue to share this detail. Also if you are ok please share your grade (Staff, Sr. Staff, etc).

In my case, I was vesting 1000 RSUs per year as a Sr. Staff Eng - in dollar terms, this is $25K per year. In my current job, I am vesting $100K RSUs per year. Coupled with a higher base and bonus, the comp difference was over $100K, too hard to pass up. Since I did not join FAANGs, my WLB is the same as in Juniper. Was a no-brainer decision for me.

One cultural difference I observe is that in my current job, everyone is trying to learn and grow (median age for SWE is 25 yrs). This creates an atmosphere in which you cannot just relax and just do your job (a mistake I did while in Juniper). You need to keep learning all the time. This could be positive or negative depending on one's age and priorities in life.