How is the ranking of foreign companies evaluated?

Hello! There are many kinds of foreign companies, from world-class multinational companies to two or three people's leather bag companies.

Take a foreign company with 2000 to 1 10,000 employees as an example. These levels are as follows:

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Author: Zhang Yide

Link:/question/23081413/answer/24933296

Source: Zhihu.

The first level:

Junior engineer: a fresh graduate of undergraduate/postgraduate, who will work in this position for 2-3 years after graduation. This is the beginning of a person's career. Basically, at this level, you can't finish the work independently, and you need more experienced engineers to guide you. The company's expectation and requirement for you is to finish the task on time and do things seriously, that's all.

The second level:

Senior engineer: an engineer who has worked for 2-6 years. Don't be fooled by the word "senior". In a foreign company, "senior" does not mean recognition of your skills or achievements, but only means "getting along for a long time". Most engineers are at this level and will stay for a long time. As a senior student, you are expected to complete tasks independently, sometimes guiding junior engineers, but you are basically not responsible for a project independently.

The third level:

Chief Engineer (MTS): An engineer who has worked for 5-8 years or even longer. Usually in this line, you have started to undertake some independent projects (big or small), and there are several team members for you to drive. In your daily work, it is not all technical work at first, but some things such as communication and coordination, project management and progress tracking. If you want to remain sensitive at the forefront of technology (which is very difficult in China), then you should already be an expert in a certain field. The so-called "cronies"-"Foreign affairs ask Zhou Yu, internal affairs ask Zhang Zhao", Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu are Sun Quan's cronies.

Some foreign R&D companies like to call engineers of this level technicians. It means the same thing, only better.

This level is actually quite embarrassing. Most diligent and talented engineers will reach this level in a few years. But further up, you will encounter the first bottleneck of your career. Usually at this level, many people will consider the transition to management. But:

First, there are always too many management positions that need you, preparation, contacts and opportunities;

Second, the way of thinking of engineers is very different from that of management positions. You should first think about whether you are really willing and suitable for management (there will be an opportunity to introduce the problem of engineers' transformation into management in another article later);

Third, the first-line managers of foreign companies are actually very difficult to do, and the hardships are not humane enough (similarly, there will be opportunities to introduce the joys and sorrows of the first-line managers of foreign companies in another article in the future).

If you think you are suitable and like management, make preparations early and show your ability in management.

If you want to stay on the road of technical experts, this road is actually more difficult in China. You should be mentally prepared to stick to it, or make plans to go abroad early.

Further up, you usually have two choices: manage or continue to do technology. Serious European and American companies will emphasize equal pay for the same post, that is, equal treatment for technical posts and management posts at the same level. How can I put it? In this respect, foreign enterprises are at least better than state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, and the salaries of management posts and technical posts at the same level are indeed roughly the same. However, in terms of career development, management posts at the same level are always more responsible than technical posts, and the corresponding right to speak is also greater. One of the hidden rules of foreign companies is that the technical post is always an employee, but the management post is one of our own.

The following are management posts and technical posts at all levels. Each company has different titles, responsibilities and benefits. What I am talking about here is the level of several companies I have experienced (these companies are all similar), and I believe this is also the general situation in R&D departments of most foreign companies.

Level 3.5:

Department manager/team leader: Department manager is equivalent to MTS in many companies. In military terms, MTS is equivalent to a professional sergeant, while the department manager is equivalent to a master sergeant or a warrant officer. Department managers are mostly at the transitional level, aiming at enabling engineers who have the potential to be managers to gradually adapt to the work nature, work ethics and style of management positions. Some companies directly call this level lead. This level still needs technical work, but the energy has gradually shifted to project management and personnel management.

The fourth stage

Manager: the backbone of foreign enterprises. The successful operation of most foreign companies depends on the unremitting efforts of many front-line managers. Different foreign companies have different definitions of managers in different positions, but the same is that managers are directly responsible for the success or failure of a project. The problems that the manager needs to solve include:

-Project management: allocating resources, assigning tasks, communicating with the outside world, controlling progress and publishing results;

-Technical decision-making: whether/when/who/how to solve an engineering problem, the choice of technical scheme, and the transformation of tools/processes;

-Personnel management: recruitment, team building, rating and salary increase.

The manager is the company commander and instructor in the army. If there are experienced MTS/SMTS in the team, the manager can get out and concentrate on being a lecturer, otherwise the manager will take on technical management, which is not a good job!

Senior Staff Engineer/SMTS): MTS: A natural continuation of MTS, there are not many technicians in China who can reach this level and insist on doing technology. There are two kinds of SMTS, one is the manager who undertakes technical decision-making (even part of project management) functions, similar to the project manager; ; The other is a pure technical expert who specializes in gnawing hard bones.

Level 5:

Senior manager: not quite the same as a senior engineer. The word "advanced" here often means "large management scope" or "great responsibility" besides seniority. A senior manager usually manages more than one project or team, and other managers/junior managers report to him. Reaching the level of senior manager means reaching the second bottleneck of career, and each step is getting harder and harder.

Chief Engineer /PMTS: Domestic engineer, the one with the highest technical level I have ever seen is PMTS, with one or two in each company, which basically means "big cow". In foreign countries, the chief engineer is often the technical director of a complete product project.

As I said before, the glass ceiling is lower when doing technology in China. In addition to the differences between domestic and foreign countries in terms of technical starting point and information richness, "trust" and "communication ability" are two bigger problems. To become a PMTS, you must have a PMTS-level project to do. Whether foreign headquarters trust engineers in China to undertake this level of projects, and whether engineers in China can complete the heavy (cross-departmental, cross-time zone, high frequency) communication required for this level of projects are the main obstacles for engineers to promote in China.

Internationally, there are often several levels of technical posts above PMTS, such as outstanding engineers/architects. The person with the highest technical level is generally called fellow, who is usually the technical image spokesperson of the company and enjoys a high reputation in the industry. Fellow is often equal to VP in level. Can China people (in China) become colleagues in foreign companies? Wait and see.

Level 6:

Director: The director is usually the general manager of a department/type of work. For example, in the IC design company where I have been, the highest position in domestic hardware/software research and development is the director. They usually have more than one project below. And their main task is to ensure that all these projects can be delivered smoothly (without knowing all the details). At the director level, personal charm, interpersonal relationship and judgment are much more important than technical ability.

From senior manager to director, it is another bottleneck that foreign managers have to face. Generally speaking, there are few directorships for foreign companies in China. From the perspective of the headquarters of a foreign company, the senior manager is still a "local", while the director becomes a "own". Besides personal ability, the relationship between directors and headquarters is also very important. It is not uncommon for many managers to stay at the top after working all their lives.

Level 7:

Senior Director: Without exception, the owners of China R&D Center are all senior directors, and they are all directly sent by the US headquarters, and they are all Taiwanese who have been educated and immersed in the United States for many years. What kind of China executives do foreign companies like to use, and why Taiwan Province/Hongkong people have become the mainstream of foreign companies' executives in China, I will introduce them in another article later. Above this level, I am not easy to contact.

The top management of many foreign companies in China is Vice President (VP), but please note that the rank of VP is very watery. In my current company, the titles are all called VP, and the internal level can be three levels worse. Generally speaking, the VP of Boss in China has a lot of moisture, which I think is no different from that of senior directors. Usually they are not members of the core decision-making level. For the sales VP, if the business in China is done well, he can become a "government official", but the VP in China R&D Center often has limited right to speak. For most senior directors who have worked hard in the workplace for half their lives, their career ends here. From director to VP, it is the last promotion (appreciation) bottleneck that belongs to only a few elites in the workplace.

Level 8:

Vice President /VP: As I said before, the VP of foreign companies in China is all water. But in the headquarters of foreign companies, VP is the entry level of the so-called "executives". Becoming a vice president means becoming the top person in charge of a certain business/function.

VP is also hierarchical. According to the practice of foreign companies, ordinary VP is only a natural continuation of the senior director, or the head of a relatively small business direction/support department. The senior vice president is the head of the core business department. Not all senior vice presidents are qualified to be executive vice presidents-EVP is the core management of the whole company.

Level 9:

CEO/ President: This level will not be discussed. For foreign companies, this position will not be taken by China people in the foreseeable future.

In addition, foreign companies often have the position of General Manager (GM). But this position is often the general manager and coordinator representing a certain business direction/market. The level of GM can be big or small, from the director to EVP (I have seen GM at the manager level, but it is usually just a bluff). Being a GM only means that he has the highest decision-making power in the direction of his management.