4 ms·

Project management usually has a component of org/people politics that aren't (quite) as present in the IC role. At the end of the day your goal should be havi

Project management usually has a component of org/people politics that aren't (quite) as present in the IC role. At the end of the day your goal should be having impact (usually) by shipping something and people who do this glue work are literally the reason something does/doesn't ship. Routing them to job roles that don't align with what they want is the quickest way to drive them away.

edmundsauto 7y ago
Except in this case, the person chose to do the role that they apparently didn't want to do? I get the whole "team effort" thing, but at the end of the day, you have to be a little selfish about the work you take on. If you start mopping the floors, rather than building features, don't be surprised if you start getting evaluated as a janitor.* * note, I'm not intending to make a point by comparing eng/PM/janitor jobs in any absolute value sense. Just that the author did a job that wasn't in her description, and is bothered by the fact that it mattered. (for what little it matters, I generally do a ton of glue type roles... but am conscious about taking them on.)
- vvanders 7y ago
  I don't think that's true, especially since it was specifically called out that this glue work is what senior engineers do a lot of. To me senior engineers deal with ambiguity and unclear ownership in a decisive way and that sounds exactly like what the author was doing. I can easily see how you would think delivering on metrics senior engineers on evaluated on(getting things out the door) would mean advancement as an engineer.
  - bethling 7y ago
    This is very true - at one point when I worked at Amazon, my manager told me that if I was already the next level, I'd easily be exceeding expectations. But the work I was doing wouldn't actually get me there. It ran contrary to what I had been told - do the work of the next level, and you'll be promoted to that level. It was tough adjusting, and I ended up moving into management. I got lucky in that I enjoy it, but I do miss doing the hands on work from time-to-time.
- mcguire 7y ago
  One alternative is that no one does the "glue" tasks and the project fails. Then no one gets promoted.

edmundsauto 7y ago

Except in this case, the person chose to do the role that they apparently didn't want to do? I get the whole "team effort" thing, but at the end of the day, you have to be a little selfish about the work you take on. If you start mopping the floors, rather than building features, don't be surprised if you start getting evaluated as a janitor.* * note, I'm not intending to make a point by comparing eng/PM/janitor jobs in any absolute value sense. Just that the author did a job that wasn't in her description, and is bothered by the fact that it mattered. (for what little it matters, I generally do a ton of glue type roles... but am conscious about taking them on.)

vvanders 7y ago
I don't think that's true, especially since it was specifically called out that this glue work is what senior engineers do a lot of. To me senior engineers deal with ambiguity and unclear ownership in a decisive way and that sounds exactly like what the author was doing. I can easily see how you would think delivering on metrics senior engineers on evaluated on(getting things out the door) would mean advancement as an engineer.
- bethling 7y ago
  This is very true - at one point when I worked at Amazon, my manager told me that if I was already the next level, I'd easily be exceeding expectations. But the work I was doing wouldn't actually get me there. It ran contrary to what I had been told - do the work of the next level, and you'll be promoted to that level. It was tough adjusting, and I ended up moving into management. I got lucky in that I enjoy it, but I do miss doing the hands on work from time-to-time.
mcguire 7y ago
One alternative is that no one does the "glue" tasks and the project fails. Then no one gets promoted.