alt Hacker NewsI'm a staff engineer and I haven't thought about trying to get promoted a single day in my life. Do good work and be nice the rest follows
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This, I dont do worry about TC or promos. If youre executing and people are happy then rewards and status usually follow. If not,you move along.
I've seen people who don't follow this become emotional wrecks, which as a manager makes me feel like Dr. Phil.
In my experience, this only works at some companies. At others you have to play the promotion game (or have your manager play it for you).
You got really lucky. That was my exact thought as well when I started my career and looking back that was so naive.
You are confusing your rating in the profession, with your rating within your company...
You're pretty lucky. Most people I know who've gotten to this point have had to think about it a lot.
This was never really true at most places, and even where it was sort of true, it's been false since 2023.
The ladder has collapsed. No more juniors to mentor and grow (in some cases no more US hiring period), and all of the carrots have been replaced with sticks. If you're lucky, the reward for doing good work and being nice is 'not being laid off', but the promo budget is gone and it's not like your boss gets a say in who's laid off so may the odds be ever in your favor.