I recently jumped careers and got a down level. The only reason I accepted it was because of a massive compensation upgrade (almost twice).
The thing is, there is a reputation that titles are always inflated in smaller companies. And regardless of whether that is true or not, you'll always be held at that standard. So when you move to a bigger company, in the short term you get the down level, but you can easily kill it with your skills and demand a raise, or you can jump to another big company where you can get back your leveling.
The thing is, there is a reputation that titles are always inflated in smaller companies. And regardless of whether that is true or not, you'll always be held at that standard. So when you move to a bigger company, in the short term you get the down level, but you can easily kill it with your skills and demand a raise, or you can jump to another big company where you can get back your leveling.