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Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

#41

Post by markus_zhang »

I don't think it's wrong. I'm myself a fresh senior engineer and I'm probably going to keep that title for quite a few years.

However, the thing about working as a lead engineer (IC) is, you can pick what you want to work on. You don't have to write boilerplate code. You can still write a lot of code if you want (David Cutler said he has always been a hands-on manager who writes a lot of code). And the pay is definitely a lot better, so I think that definitely holds some weight.

Re: Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

#43

Post by poisonborz »

This is your life in the EU as a developer. Most companies only have junior/senior titles, just to tell beginners apart from "3+ years of experience". Very few companies have staff engineer level. You can either go on to be a manager, or land in a company which suits your vision of being a senior developer.

Re: Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

#44

Post by ericmcer »

creaktive wrote: post #14

“Even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat”. I’m in this field because I like writing code. So many of my managers tried to push me to advance my career, and generally speaking, there is peer pressure. Don’t give in, if you’re having fun, and make enough for a dignified living, that’s what really matters, not the title.

I am in the same boat. It also feels like the more time I spend at one company in one role the more I gain crazy amounts of context over every aspect of our software, so the less effort it takes to do the same amount of work. I can do many tasks in The old guys who have total ownership over some esoteric but irreplaceable part of the code really have it made. Especially if they are working remotely. At that point you almost are like a piece of B2B SaaS software. As long as you do your task tolerably well no one wants to go through the hassle of replacing you.

Re: Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

#45

Post by leptons »

taylodl wrote: post #17

I know people in their 60s who are senior engineers and are quite content with their career and where they are. I know people in their 30s who are directors. It really depends on the person and where your talents and strengths lie. The key, though it's admittedly easier said than done, is for you to do you and not worry about what everyone else is doing.

It's fun until your boss makes you hire and lead a team, as well as be product manager, and head of QA (you are the QA), and basically become the director of a department, while still holding the title of "Sr. Engineer". I didn't really ask for any of this, and I'd be happy if I were still just doing "Sr. Engineer" work, but there's a lot on my shoulders. While this sounds shitty, I also have autonomy and job security.

Re: Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

#46

Post by unsnap_biceps »

creaktive wrote: post #14

“Even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat”. I’m in this field because I like writing code. So many of my managers tried to push me to advance my career, and generally speaking, there is peer pressure. Don’t give in, if you’re having fun, and make enough for a dignified living, that’s what really matters, not the title.

I keep getting pushed to move into a role that I know I will fail in. I don't get it. I'm happy where I am. Isn't that enough?

Re: Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

#47

Post by Dalewyn »

>I am not looking for FIRE.

If you hate the idea of making more money, as the meme goes, perhaps consider that is because you are actually Financially Independent and Retired Early without realizing it.

Being able to say "I don't want more money." is a luxury only few people can truly afford.

Re: Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

#48

Post by aurizon »

Tech is a moving target, but it can endure as it fades and is superseded, as long as you float along jumping to a new log as the other one gets water logged and sinks below you - the new stacks you speak of. As long as you are content with the progression and are happy with what you earn(assuming it inflates accordingly), you are a success in what you do! Though I have seen too many people choose the wrong log = sinks with all hands, so survey your field and stay afloat.

Re: Ask HN: Is it wrong not wanting career progression beyond senior?

#49

Post by mattmaroon »

There’s nothing wrong with that at all. I’ve often thought it’s insane that our industry says “ok you’re really good at writing code, now let’s see if you can manage people.” They’re extremely different, almost mutually antagonistic skill sets. A whole lot of people are good at writing code because they don’t want to deal with other people.

You’re making plenty good money I assume. You can take that money and invest it and make more that way. Your income is not capped even if your salary is.

If you make good money, have a good quality of life, and like what you do you don’t really have to think beyond that at all. But if you want to think beyond that, there are other options.

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