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> you really want to encourage engineers to move around every 2-3 years I have to disagree, I can say I honestly don't hit true full stride until ~1-2 yrs of w

> you really want to encourage engineers to move around every 2-3 years I have to disagree, I can say I honestly don't hit true full stride until ~1-2 yrs of working with a complex system. A big part of this people really don't like know how to make non-complex systems, and there's next to no incentive in it with the 12-18month new project/promotion cycle. (ie, long-termism is rarely the original writer's concern) In my experience by the time i'm 2-3 years experience with a set of systems I'm many multiples more productive and informed than someone with ~0.5-1 yrs experience on it. And I'm able to tell product/support people exactly how the system behaves in its edges, and how it would hypothetically behave if modified for new features/logic. So, plz managers consider allowing people to become true masters of a domain too.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
I agree. Some degree of moving around between companies is good for a career as it exposes people to different companies’ ways of doing things and helps someone determine what they like (or don’t) about different companies. But there’s also something great about a company where people genuinely enjoy working for the long term and aren’t just using it as a springboard to the next opportunity. Having a lot of employees with short time horizons leads to a lot of sacrificing long-term objectives in favor of short-term line items that sound good on a resume. That’s not to say that people can’t accomplish great things in 1-3 years, but when nobody’s time horizon extends beyond that, every goal gets altered to fit within that time frame. Or worse, people start getting very good at starting ambitious projects, getting them to proof-of-concept phase, and then leaving because they can put it on their resume as an accomplishment. I’ve moved through some companies they were basically a graveyard of half-finished projects they nobody wanted to inherit because they all wanted to start their own thing rather than pick up the hard parts of someone else’s half finished project. Of course, this requires the company to reward employees appropriately to make it worthwhile to stay. Many companies have figured this out, but many smaller corps underpay as long as possible and count on a steady turnover as part of their compensation strategy. Not great, IMO. Become a workplace that people want to stick with for a long time.
Consultant32452 5y ago
I find that at the 2-3 year mark too many people have come to know that I will be able to solve their problem, either directly or indirectly. That's when I usually leave, because my day becomes filled with constant "distraction." This distraction may be good for the employer, because problems get solved and things the employer values get done. But it's miserable for me. The part of this career I enjoy is getting that "in the zone" feeling when neck deep in code. If I'm getting yanked in different directions constantly I don't get what I value out of the job anymore.
- maerF0x0 5y ago
  This was basically my issue too, manager keeps asking why I get so little done some days. I have to explain it's because I'm effectively the productivity of 3-5 ppl on my team and so when you see them delivering fast, it's largely because they came to me with a hard issue, i broke i down for them and all they had to do was write the code.
TranquilMarmot 5y ago
I was allowed to work on the same problem space at a company for 5 years. I was an absolute master of the domain and it was incredible! I was so productive it was insane. I could plan and execute these totally wild projects that evolved the platform in positive ways. It was a lot of fun. But... I could feel myself stagnating. I wasn't really learning anything. I left for another company and discovered that, yeah, outside of that area that I had been working on for 5 years I was almost completely incompetent. Didn't feel great. There's something to be said for switching areas every few years, it keeps your skills fresh.
- physicles 5y ago
  My story is so similar, but I’m still in that stagnation phase now. I went from never working on a production service to building, evolving, and ops-ing basically our entire back end over the last five years. I can answer nearly any question about it within a few seconds. And I’m so ready for something new, and for a break. Leaving this kind of comfort won’t be easy, but I know that I need to find a way.
  - TranquilMarmot 5y ago
    What's been most painful for me is that I was a few months away from a promotion to being a Principal engineer. I didn't feel like it was deserved since I only really worked on one (very important, very large, very visible) piece of the product. I was getting to the point of pretty extreme burnout and the last thing I wanted was a promotion! I had thought that a switch to another company to work on new things would "fix" my burnout since it would be such a different problem space. New problems means new learning means more energy! I couldn't have been more wrong. Leaving the comfort of something I knew to jump into the deep end of an entirely new stack just exacerbated the burnout. I've never wanted to change careers more than I have now. So I say to you- take a break! I only had two weeks off between jobs which was just enough to start to feel relaxed. If possible, I'd suggest taking at least a month off.
    - physicles 5y ago

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

I agree. Some degree of moving around between companies is good for a career as it exposes people to different companies’ ways of doing things and helps someone determine what they like (or don’t) about different companies. But there’s also something great about a company where people genuinely enjoy working for the long term and aren’t just using it as a springboard to the next opportunity. Having a lot of employees with short time horizons leads to a lot of sacrificing long-term objectives in favor of short-term line items that sound good on a resume. That’s not to say that people can’t accomplish great things in 1-3 years, but when nobody’s time horizon extends beyond that, every goal gets altered to fit within that time frame. Or worse, people start getting very good at starting ambitious projects, getting them to proof-of-concept phase, and then leaving because they can put it on their resume as an accomplishment. I’ve moved through some companies they were basically a graveyard of half-finished projects they nobody wanted to inherit because they all wanted to start their own thing rather than pick up the hard parts of someone else’s half finished project. Of course, this requires the company to reward employees appropriately to make it worthwhile to stay. Many companies have figured this out, but many smaller corps underpay as long as possible and count on a steady turnover as part of their compensation strategy. Not great, IMO. Become a workplace that people want to stick with for a long time.

Consultant32452 5y ago

I find that at the 2-3 year mark too many people have come to know that I will be able to solve their problem, either directly or indirectly. That's when I usually leave, because my day becomes filled with constant "distraction." This distraction may be good for the employer, because problems get solved and things the employer values get done. But it's miserable for me. The part of this career I enjoy is getting that "in the zone" feeling when neck deep in code. If I'm getting yanked in different directions constantly I don't get what I value out of the job anymore.

maerF0x0 5y ago
This was basically my issue too, manager keeps asking why I get so little done some days. I have to explain it's because I'm effectively the productivity of 3-5 ppl on my team and so when you see them delivering fast, it's largely because they came to me with a hard issue, i broke i down for them and all they had to do was write the code.

TranquilMarmot 5y ago

I was allowed to work on the same problem space at a company for 5 years. I was an absolute master of the domain and it was incredible! I was so productive it was insane. I could plan and execute these totally wild projects that evolved the platform in positive ways. It was a lot of fun. But... I could feel myself stagnating. I wasn't really learning anything. I left for another company and discovered that, yeah, outside of that area that I had been working on for 5 years I was almost completely incompetent. Didn't feel great. There's something to be said for switching areas every few years, it keeps your skills fresh.

physicles 5y ago
My story is so similar, but I’m still in that stagnation phase now. I went from never working on a production service to building, evolving, and ops-ing basically our entire back end over the last five years. I can answer nearly any question about it within a few seconds. And I’m so ready for something new, and for a break. Leaving this kind of comfort won’t be easy, but I know that I need to find a way.
- TranquilMarmot 5y ago
  What's been most painful for me is that I was a few months away from a promotion to being a Principal engineer. I didn't feel like it was deserved since I only really worked on one (very important, very large, very visible) piece of the product. I was getting to the point of pretty extreme burnout and the last thing I wanted was a promotion! I had thought that a switch to another company to work on new things would "fix" my burnout since it would be such a different problem space. New problems means new learning means more energy! I couldn't have been more wrong. Leaving the comfort of something I knew to jump into the deep end of an entirely new stack just exacerbated the burnout. I've never wanted to change careers more than I have now. So I say to you- take a break! I only had two weeks off between jobs which was just enough to start to feel relaxed. If possible, I'd suggest taking at least a month off.
  - physicles 5y ago