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In big tech, I see a lot of “senior” engineers get there by virtue of being on the team 5+ years. Rarely are they substantially better, but they are very good a

In big tech, I see a lot of “senior” engineers get there by virtue of being on the team 5+ years. Rarely are they substantially better, but they are very good at attending meetings, gate keeping domain knowledge, and using their political connections

NAHWheatCracker 4y ago
Not in big tech, but most of the senior engineers I've worked with were hired to the position. I agree with your assessment for the ones who were promoted to it.
bluGill 4y ago
They also have experience on what doesn't work. This doesn't mean they are great at the job, but is often a big advantage over someone who is otherwise better but doesn't have experience.
- chrisweekly 4y ago
  > "They also have experience on what doesn't work. " This. "An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." - Niels Bohr
rconti 4y ago
I've kind of found the opposite. I'm at a bigger / reasonable well-known tech company now (FAANG types would probably call it a 'tier 2 company', and there are rigorous standards for proving your worth at promotion time. It's a huge change from my 25 years in industry at 'smaller' / less prestigious companies where most promotions happened because it's the only way my boss could get me a 5% instead of 4% raise, or whatever. Or in other companies where they gave you a promotion INSTEAD of a raise. In all my previous companies, it happened just because somebody gave it to you, not because you met any real standard.
- ZephyrBlu 4y ago
  In most companies being "rigorous" seems to mean "checking the correct arbitrary boxes". What does it mean at your company?
  - rconti 4y ago
    There are boxes, for sure! There's a rubric of requirements. Technical proficiency, leadership, mentorship, cross-functional impact. If you want to be cynical about it, sure -- it can mean you drive projects just for the impact, you lead internal conferences, you hold meetings, you mentor, whatever, all for the self-serving benefits of promotion. And you definitely get the whiff of that occasionally from certain initiatves people take on. But I generally find it pretty positive and inspiring to see how it encourages people to grow, and how it drives the tone of the organization. For example I've never worked somewhere where it was so encouraged to take on tasks outside of your comfort zone. To suck at things, and learn, and get better -- versus staying in your own little hole and getting very good at your specific role, but no more.

NAHWheatCracker 4y ago

Not in big tech, but most of the senior engineers I've worked with were hired to the position. I agree with your assessment for the ones who were promoted to it.

bluGill 4y ago

They also have experience on what doesn't work. This doesn't mean they are great at the job, but is often a big advantage over someone who is otherwise better but doesn't have experience.

chrisweekly 4y ago
> "They also have experience on what doesn't work. " This. "An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." - Niels Bohr

rconti 4y ago

I've kind of found the opposite. I'm at a bigger / reasonable well-known tech company now (FAANG types would probably call it a 'tier 2 company', and there are rigorous standards for proving your worth at promotion time. It's a huge change from my 25 years in industry at 'smaller' / less prestigious companies where most promotions happened because it's the only way my boss could get me a 5% instead of 4% raise, or whatever. Or in other companies where they gave you a promotion INSTEAD of a raise. In all my previous companies, it happened just because somebody gave it to you, not because you met any real standard.

ZephyrBlu 4y ago
In most companies being "rigorous" seems to mean "checking the correct arbitrary boxes". What does it mean at your company?
- rconti 4y ago
  There are boxes, for sure! There's a rubric of requirements. Technical proficiency, leadership, mentorship, cross-functional impact. If you want to be cynical about it, sure -- it can mean you drive projects just for the impact, you lead internal conferences, you hold meetings, you mentor, whatever, all for the self-serving benefits of promotion. And you definitely get the whiff of that occasionally from certain initiatves people take on. But I generally find it pretty positive and inspiring to see how it encourages people to grow, and how it drives the tone of the organization. For example I've never worked somewhere where it was so encouraged to take on tasks outside of your comfort zone. To suck at things, and learn, and get better -- versus staying in your own little hole and getting very good at your specific role, but no more.