alt Hacker NewsThat's just not accurate. I've seen these systems run at multiple companies, and in every case they had a lot to do with skills and experience. It's true that they're not a perfect classification, and I think it's defensible that some people prefer a system where this kind of leveling doesn't happen.
But the tradeoff is that career advancement becomes less legible in a way that other people often find frustrating. Why does Alice get paid 3 times as much as me to work on cooler and more important stuff? "Alice is L7 and I'm L4" is often an easier answer to accept than "Alice is a better engineer than I am" or "People with Alice's experience have more options than I do".
> That's just not accurate. I've seen these systems run at multiple companies, and in every case they had a lot to do with skills and experience
> I am an L63 but the work I was doing, was something an L60-L61 could do
So you and OP believe that, these systems are good indicators of skills, so much that the last statement sounds normal?
I was thinking like that once, as well, but I got disillusioned. These stuff tend to be gamed.
> Why does Alice get paid 3 times as much as me to work on cooler and more important stuff? "Alice is L7 and I'm L4" is often an easier answer to accept than "Alice is a better engineer than I am" or "People with Alice's experience have more options than I do".
Sure, that's why these system exist. They justify pay, that's all there is.