4 ms·

Actually providing a path for advancement is cited over compensation concerns in a lot of exit interviews I have seen

marktangotango 5y ago
This will always be the case. The last thing the majority of companies want to do is provide a clear path to promotion and pay increases. Face it, the vast majority of non technical companies are all about cost cutting, doing more with less. Hence job hopping is how developers get promotions and raises.
sokoloff 5y ago
I think a lot of those are code for compensation, though. It’s a lot more polite to say “I didn’t see a path to advance here” than it is to say “this other company was willing to pay me more” [or “I was tired of your particular flavor of bullshit”].
EvilEy3 5y ago
Because advancement offers what? Right, bigger compensation.
- xxpor 5y ago
  It's not just that though. It's also the oppertunity to work on more interesting things and less on day to day drudge work.
  - ryandrake 5y ago
    Beyond a certain point, though, advancement can mean less and less interesting domain-specific work, and more things like managing people, strategic decision making, presenting to executives and business stakeholders, and yes politics. The only thing that is almost universally true about "advancement" is more compensation. So, if someone is complaining about advancement in their exit interview, it's very often code-word for compensation.
    - jacobr1 5y ago
      I've also seen advancement as a cover for "unfair advancement of others." Which is sometimes the trigger for leaving: "why did they get the promotion when I have been-here-longer/work-harder/do-better-work?"
- handrous 5y ago
  - Better comp (significantly better, not insulting 4% raises) - Better working conditions (possibly including more respect and higher social status) - Different work (sick of development, want to move into management or product or whatever) - Better prospects for future employment ("when I'm a middling-quality 45 year old developer I might not be able to find a job anymore... as a middling-quality 45-year-old manager, on the other hand, I'll do just fine) One or (probably) more of those are what people want when they talk about wanting advancement opportunities. The comp is pretty much always going to be one of the things they're focused on, as it's a big part of what distinguishes advancement from changing careers. The better pay and/or status is what makes it advancement.
chrisseaton 5y ago
> path for advancement I'm pretty sure that's code for better compensation and better working conditions.
whimsicalism 5y ago
Because discussing compensation is impolitic. "Path for advancement" is often code for under-compensation.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

This will always be the case. The last thing the majority of companies want to do is provide a clear path to promotion and pay increases. Face it, the vast majority of non technical companies are all about cost cutting, doing more with less. Hence job hopping is how developers get promotions and raises.

sokoloff 5y ago

I think a lot of those are code for compensation, though. It’s a lot more polite to say “I didn’t see a path to advance here” than it is to say “this other company was willing to pay me more” [or “I was tired of your particular flavor of bullshit”].

EvilEy3 5y ago

Because advancement offers what? Right, bigger compensation.

xxpor 5y ago
It's not just that though. It's also the oppertunity to work on more interesting things and less on day to day drudge work.
- ryandrake 5y ago
  Beyond a certain point, though, advancement can mean less and less interesting domain-specific work, and more things like managing people, strategic decision making, presenting to executives and business stakeholders, and yes politics. The only thing that is almost universally true about "advancement" is more compensation. So, if someone is complaining about advancement in their exit interview, it's very often code-word for compensation.
  - jacobr1 5y ago
    I've also seen advancement as a cover for "unfair advancement of others." Which is sometimes the trigger for leaving: "why did they get the promotion when I have been-here-longer/work-harder/do-better-work?"
handrous 5y ago
- Better comp (significantly better, not insulting 4% raises) - Better working conditions (possibly including more respect and higher social status) - Different work (sick of development, want to move into management or product or whatever) - Better prospects for future employment ("when I'm a middling-quality 45 year old developer I might not be able to find a job anymore... as a middling-quality 45-year-old manager, on the other hand, I'll do just fine) One or (probably) more of those are what people want when they talk about wanting advancement opportunities. The comp is pretty much always going to be one of the things they're focused on, as it's a big part of what distinguishes advancement from changing careers. The better pay and/or status is what makes it advancement.

chrisseaton 5y ago

> path for advancement I'm pretty sure that's code for better compensation and better working conditions.

whimsicalism 5y ago

Because discussing compensation is impolitic. "Path for advancement" is often code for under-compensation.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]