Hey WR fam.
I work for a mid sized SaaS company in the US as an AE, been here for 3 years. For many personal and professional reasons, I want to work abroad in EMEA or APJ, and the sooner the better. Thing is, my company isn't big enough to have strong presence in those regions yet. I've spoken to the higher ups who manage international business and putting more reps in country is on their 12 month roadmap, but it's vague and we know how priorities can change. The VP suggested I could start by helping out with the international business sort of as an AM role in addition to my regular job.
Seems like I have a couple options:
- Stay at my current company, continue grinding it out, help out with the international business, and hope that within 1 year or so they'd be ready to place me as a field AE overseas
Pros: I’ve built leverage at my company. Can continue selling what I know best already. Would have first mover advantage penetrating basically untouched markets for the company = big $$?
Cons: No promise my company will be ready to expand internationally within a year... Would need to put in a lot of extra hours supporting the int'l business and doing my own work.
- Start fresh - get hired as an AE at a much bigger company locally (Docusign, SFDC, MSFT, etc), grind it out for 1-2 years, and ask to be transferred to an international office
Pros: 30%+ pay bump as an AE at a bigger company. More stable career options down the pipe
Cons: New products, new company etc. Will push my abroad timeline by another 2 years or more.
Would love to hear your feedback and also hear any stories if you/your peers have done something similar.
Cheers!
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