Tech Terms

You might be new to the tech industry and wonder what acronyms like EM, IC, SWE, TC mean.

Here are some common acronyms and terms in the tech industry:

EM

EM is an acronym for engineering manager. Engineering manager (management track) is one of the two tracks for software engineering career, the other being the individual contributor track.

FAANG

FAANG is an acronym for the top tech companies in the US: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google.

IC

IC is an acronym for individual contributor. Individual contributor is one of the two tracks for software engineering career, the other being the management track.

LC

LC is an acronym for LeetCode, an online judge (OJ) for practicing coding problems and prepare for technical interviews.

PIP

In tech companies, PIP means performance improvement plan.

The PIP program is for people whose performance did not meet expectations in a review cycle.

If PIP goals are not met at the end of the program, the employee will usually be let go.

SA

In tech industry, SA means the title of solution architect, an individual contributor (IC) role that is similar to staff software engineer.

In banks and consulting firms, SA means senior associate, a title that is one level above associate.

SDE

SDE is an acronym for software development engineer, a profession where people code and write software.

Software development engineer (SDE) is usually synonymous with software developer and software engineer.

The abbreviation for software development engineer, SDE is used by companies like Microsoft and Amazon.

SWE

SWE is an acronym for software engineer, a profession where people code and write software.

Software engineer (SWE) is usually synonymous with software developer and software development engineer.

The abbreviation for software engineer, SWE is used by companies like Google and Facebook.

TC

TC refers to the total compensation of a job in a year. Total compensation in a tech company typically consists of 3 components: base salary, bonus and stock (or RSU / stock options).

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Chinese tech terms

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