> I mean even at Google (on a different team) I was a "technical lead" in my 20s, and let me tell you, I had noooo business leading anything technical of any importance. But this is very common!

So these big tech companies have a caste system. And no I don't mean the Indian caste system, which obviously has its own controversies. The caste system is really a form of social proof.

Did you go to MIT, Stanford, UW, Waterloo or CMU? Ok, you're in the club. You can join TI (Technical Infrastructure). Out of college you'll be L5 in 2-3 years (the same level an external hire with 10 years of experience will have). You will find yourself on the better projects with more promotion prospects.

This kind of premature promotion is to find the 1 in 20 of these people who are truly talented enough to continue getting promoted to L6-8+.