Is there any benefit to level 3 management outside of a 19% CPI?
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Who's your daddy?
Depends on the team really. As some have pointed out, some are crazy busy, others not so much. If you are coming into the company as an L3, the pay is much much higher than if they promote you from a L2. Generally speaking, yes take the gig if offered.
Are the stock grants like stock options or actual stock? I hadn’t heard L3 getting that. Is that just for supervising L3 or individual contributor too?
Consider the middle of the director technology pay band at $235K bumped 19% for bonus and 5% for pension for many. Throw in 4.8% to 6% for 401K match and $40K - $60K for stock grants, another $6-7K for stock grant dividends, $1400 for HSA contributions and maybe even a little patent money here and there. Many will also get quarterly performance awards too. In other words, it's very easy for technology directors to make well over $365K per year and not too hard to make $385K. By the time people get to this point, their stock plans are pretty beefy and many do side consulting as well. All in, making well over $500K per year is common.
It doesn’t sound like the poster is a contender for an L3 slot….just questioning the financials.
Lots of Director level positions are incredibly demanding. My former Director was insanely involved with his teams, sending emails at odd hours…a real workaholic. Conversely another one, we rarely interfaced with but allowed us to steer our own ships. I’ve not been exposed to that level which I would call ‘cushy’…especially now with fewer staff members. I agree, an L3 will open a lot of doors for future career opportunities. ATT’s name is highly regarded especially at that level.
L3 manager types:
- got the because of family connections
- got the job because they were an LDP
- got the job for being in the right place right time and checked all the hiring boxes
- earned it…very rare these days
Benefits of being an L3 - 10% pay bump, 19% bonus, stock options, and generally get to be close to home. Unfortunately, most L3s are ineffective and not needed these days.
I would say "yes" but with some caveats. Having a Director title on your resume from a Fortune 50 company looks much stronger than the same title from a smaller or unknown firm. We all know T has issues but I'm talking only about the outside world's perception on your resume and it's a plus. That said, I'd really kick the tires on an L3 position if I was considering it. I've been around about 20 years and have seen (via observation only) that some L3s jobs are quite cushy and some are crazy, demanding roles. The variability is really quite stark sometimes. And, I've been told that sometimes when you move from L2 to L3 you are far less a "do-er" than you imagined and, therefore, rely on having a good staff. So, unless it's just a train wreck I'd think about doing it for a year and then possibly using it as a stepping stone elsewhere if you hate it.
10% raise and yearly stock grants
In some cases the L3 TSR is lower than other L2 TSR’s.
Yep you don’t have to be competent in your job whatsoever. Just Sit back and tell your direct reports you want better numbers from them. Then go golfing. Collect fat paycheck.