Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

For a while now (a couple of months) I struggle with having any motivation at my programming job. I like the company's profile and have a great team, but: - I was hired at a lower level than I interviewed for. Was going for a senior dev position, having 10 years of professional exp in the area, but apparently was hired for a mid position. I found out about this only 6 months in. - My manager and other people in the management admitted to me I should've been hired as a senior dev. No one till now could explain to me how this happened. - Apparently, the company can't adjust my level, because "the processes won't allow it". - In order to get to the level I was supposed to be hired at, I need two promotions in a row. This will mean I need 1.5-2 years with the company just to get to the senior position (!!!). - I keep getting great reviews in the review cycles (not to brag, just to paint the full picture), but it leads to no actual actions being taken by the company: neither in terms of the levels nor in terms of the compensation. All this feels like a pat on the head. - The title itself is meh, but it has a very tangible effect now: the company is comparing my salary to mid-level devs (usually having half of my experience) and uses this to justify no or minimal salary increases, in spite of the overachiever reviews and the inflation being at almost 20% in my country. - All this leads to me having close to zero motivation and energy left to work here, hence me wasting time by writing this post. - This situation left me with a bad taste in my mouth about the industry in general. I feel really disillusioned right now, even though it's not my first company. It's the first one I am so frustrated with. - Considering the current job market, I am a bit afraid to just quit. I have enough saved up to survive quite a while without a job and have no family to support, but still, feels like a risky move. - At the same time, I really don't have the energy to be jumping through 100 hoops in the interview process once again, at least not for the time being. - It might be a chance to give it a shot as an indie dev, I have some ideas I wanted to try out and it's one thing I could get excited about in tech.

TL;DR I am probably burned out, looking for validation from anonymous people online to make a serious life decision, what could possibly go wrong.

Companies are always finding ways to justify lacks of pay rise. The company I was working for got acquired by a much bigger company with all these complex procedures in place and they intentionally allocated all the acquired employees much lower "career levels" so that they can justify no pay rises by pointing out that we're over-paid for our level. I've got 25-years of experience but am on the same level as new graduate hires. They also know that because I'm a foreigner and do have a family to worry about that I'm not going anywhere in a hurry. The industry is also quite badly ageist. Trying to even get a new job once in your mid-40s can be a challenge.

Especially if you're working remotely, start looking for other positions.

Upgrade your LinkedIn to premium and set it so that only recruiters see you're open for work. With 10+ years of experience you'll have recruiters crawling in your inbox like cockroaches :D

Only quit when you've already signed a contract with the new employer, just be mindful of any notice periods you may have.

Why do you want a senior position? More money? More responsibility? In other words, what do you really want?

Would you be happy with a promotion that came with a meaningless raise? A promotion that had you doing the same thing?

In my experience, titles are absolutely meaningless outside of larger tech companies that have leveling guidelines.

Does your company have a leveling guideline?