Reddit Experience · 2026 Q1 · Remote

Is it worth it to leave my current job for Capital One?

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I have worked at a small startup (\~150-200 employees) for the past 2 years as a full-stack engineer. When I started, I was making 100k base, but I was promoted a year ago and now make 125k. I love th

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I have worked at a small startup (\~150-200 employees) for the past 2 years as a full-stack engineer. When I started, I was making 100k base, but I was promoted a year ago and now make 125k. I love that my job is remote, I like the work I do, and I get along well with my team. I am 26F and currently have 5 YoE and an engineering degree from an Ivy. In December, a recruiter from Capital One reached out to me. I guess at one point I had applied in the past and was rejected but my name was in their system and they wanted to consider me for a Senior Software Engineer (Principal Associate) role. I kinda thought eh, what the hell why not, but after a little brushing up on Leetcode I managed to pass the online assessment and the Power Day and am now at the team match phase. The recruiter called me yesterday to let me know that while I still passed, they ultimately are going to offer me a Software Engineer (Senior Associate) role, which is the level below what I interviewed for. I'm honestly shocked I even passed so this is still good news, and according to Levels.fyi I would be making \~160k base in NYC which is significantly more than what I make now. Now that I've passed and I'm waiting to hear back about team match, I was looking on Blind and Reddit about working at Capital One and I worry that the culture is really cutthroat. Apparently every 6 months they PIP 15% of employees per team and it's common for new hires to get cut. This is really concerning to me. My entire career I've been more used to a startup environment where there is obviously a chance of layoffs (and have been through one) but they weren't cutting teams every 6 months. Going from having mostly startups on my resume to having somewhere with more name recognition like Capital One might be more beneficial for my career in the long run, plus the compensation is significantly more than what I make currently. However, I worry that I'll be out of a job in 6 months and with this current job market I don't think most people are in a place to take risks. I'm weighing the pros and cons and I'm not sure how to proceed once I hear back about team match and get an offer. Should I stay at my current job, or take the leap?
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