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Back in the mid-2000s at Google, there was some degree for advancement from data center roles, even as contractors, to full-time jobs — even up to fully-fledged

Back in the mid-2000s at Google, there was some degree for advancement from data center roles, even as contractors, to full-time jobs — even up to fully-fledged engineering jobs (SWE and SRE and NetOps) — if you were extremely talented, dedicated, networked well, and had the right degree of luck. Note all the qualifiers: it was tantamount to impossible. I rose up through the ranks as one of these, as did a medium-sized cohort of colleagues who became life-long friends. Many of us busted our asses (hard). These days, I reckon the glass ceiling has turned into a cement thanks to managerial cowardice, which was bad at the time, and further desire to segment the workforce/roles. We often said we came into Google through the backdoor. The degree of disparaging remarks about the folks in the data centers was unreal. It would be foolish to say there wasn't a de facto caste system (SWE > SRE > SETI > SysAdmin > NetOps > Data Center Tech > Facilities). After a couple of promotions from an extinct job ladder and level below L0, I ended up exceeding L6 in my career and became SWE. In short, the disappointment from the folks in the article resonates deeply. Each time I encounter someone in this position, I try to lend as much of a hand as I can.

ecshafer 5y ago
Thanks for sharing. As I noted elsewhere, this is how things should work. If you have a smart, hard working person as a low level worker their ability to work hard and move up is essential for a successful society. Companies have moved to a system instead where you need the right degree from the right school to get into the right position. The MBA types may say that you should focus on your core competencies. Google, being a tech company, running their datacenters sure sounds like a core competency.
- fearfulofview4 5y ago
  Entirely. Credential signaling leads to mediocrity. In my opinion internal mobility between departments and roles improved in the last four years, except for the untouchables. I didn’t even go to that great of a university nor study engineering. I learned years later that apparently my university was on some recruiting shortlist on account of it being a renowned engineer’s alma mater. I suspect that was the only reason I was even hired to clean the metaphorical toilets. It took most of my career to overcome the attendant imposter syndrome. Breaking the L6 ceiling put that to rest, but I don’t forget my roots.
pbrb 5y ago
Interesting to see an insiders breakdown of the caste system. As an outsider, I've always though that SRE was #1, and SWE second. SRE has so much more knowledge area to cover than SWE... I've been thinking of interviewing for SRE roles at FAANG, but I don't see why I wouldn't just go SWE.

ecshafer 5y ago

Thanks for sharing. As I noted elsewhere, this is how things should work. If you have a smart, hard working person as a low level worker their ability to work hard and move up is essential for a successful society. Companies have moved to a system instead where you need the right degree from the right school to get into the right position. The MBA types may say that you should focus on your core competencies. Google, being a tech company, running their datacenters sure sounds like a core competency.

fearfulofview4 5y ago
Entirely. Credential signaling leads to mediocrity. In my opinion internal mobility between departments and roles improved in the last four years, except for the untouchables. I didn’t even go to that great of a university nor study engineering. I learned years later that apparently my university was on some recruiting shortlist on account of it being a renowned engineer’s alma mater. I suspect that was the only reason I was even hired to clean the metaphorical toilets. It took most of my career to overcome the attendant imposter syndrome. Breaking the L6 ceiling put that to rest, but I don’t forget my roots.

pbrb 5y ago

Interesting to see an insiders breakdown of the caste system. As an outsider, I've always though that SRE was #1, and SWE second. SRE has so much more knowledge area to cover than SWE... I've been thinking of interviewing for SRE roles at FAANG, but I don't see why I wouldn't just go SWE.