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> Nothing is not your job. Yeah, screw that. These roles with fancy titles may come with astronomical compensation for an engineer—and rightfully so—but they'

by imiric 1y ago

> Nothing is not your job. Yeah, screw that. These roles with fancy titles may come with astronomical compensation for an engineer—and rightfully so—but they're essentially buying your soul. You're not an executive, and are still below them on the political and compensation ladder, but you'll easily have 10x more on your plate than an executive. You'll be expected to act as a lap dog for the company for anything tech-related, while you probably will only enjoy 10% of that work. Your guidance will only be appreciated when the stock goes up, while you'll be the first to be held responsible for any technical screw ups. So, nah. I'd rather continue to enjoy my work, maintain my freedom and peace of mind, and still get paid well enough as a perpetual "senior".

questionableans 1y ago
It’s definitely not for everyone. But if the person, the org and role are a good fit, it’s not going to be that kind of worst case scenario. IMO, “nothing is not your job” is odd phrasing that doesn’t really mean “everything is your job,” it’s more like “see something, say something—-in a way that is received constructively and results in positive change, whether through your own actions or others’.” The unstated corollary is if you’re in a shitty organization that just will not get better, the most positive change you can make for the world is to stop wasting your time helping them and go somewhere better, where you can make a difference.
- the_af 1y ago
  The way the author describes it (in contradicting terms; see the point where he claims if you're a Principal IC, you were promoted because you already acted like one, making the ~30 items of advice redundant) it's the most stressful position ever. Be critical, don't be in the critical path, be laid back in an advisory role but be hands-on or you're setting yourself up for failure, work on stuff you enjoy but be ready to justify why it needs a Principal or you're "working on the wrong thing", sponsor, consult, explain to leadership, mentor, code, be present, do not be too present, "feel the pulse", don't attend too many meetings, don't attend too few, gently nudge, don't speak all the time, be careful about staying quiet, etc etc. Seems like hell. And presumably, you'll get fired if things turn out badly with a project. Thanks, but no thanks.
  - LPisGood 1y ago
    All that and also without a team of engineers working with you on the same problems, and you have limited formal power to actually set priorities and assign work. That sounds miserable.
    - questionableans 1y ago
      The way it works is you convince engineers and managers to want to work with you.
      - LPisGood 1y ago
        Making your whole living on influence without authority sounds awful.
        zb 1y ago
        It’s a lot better than the reverse.
        questionableans 1y ago
        That’s life. Unless you’re a hermit, a complete pushover, or a slave master, you’re constantly trying to influence without authority. Want to go out to dinner with friends? That’s influence without authority right there. Want to get your PR approved? Influence without authority. Trying to get your point across to strangers online? Ditto.
        the_af 1y ago
        Yes, but the stakes at your job are different. You don't get fired or get bad performance reviews if you fail to convince your friends to go out for dinner. You're not expected to be constantly be doing this either. You are not paid a top salary and get performance reviews based on that. Principal ICs sounds like a high stress occupation...
        1y ago

by imiric 1y ago

questionableans 1y ago

It’s definitely not for everyone. But if the person, the org and role are a good fit, it’s not going to be that kind of worst case scenario. IMO, “nothing is not your job” is odd phrasing that doesn’t really mean “everything is your job,” it’s more like “see something, say something—-in a way that is received constructively and results in positive change, whether through your own actions or others’.” The unstated corollary is if you’re in a shitty organization that just will not get better, the most positive change you can make for the world is to stop wasting your time helping them and go somewhere better, where you can make a difference.

the_af 1y ago
The way the author describes it (in contradicting terms; see the point where he claims if you're a Principal IC, you were promoted because you already acted like one, making the ~30 items of advice redundant) it's the most stressful position ever. Be critical, don't be in the critical path, be laid back in an advisory role but be hands-on or you're setting yourself up for failure, work on stuff you enjoy but be ready to justify why it needs a Principal or you're "working on the wrong thing", sponsor, consult, explain to leadership, mentor, code, be present, do not be too present, "feel the pulse", don't attend too many meetings, don't attend too few, gently nudge, don't speak all the time, be careful about staying quiet, etc etc. Seems like hell. And presumably, you'll get fired if things turn out badly with a project. Thanks, but no thanks.
- LPisGood 1y ago
  All that and also without a team of engineers working with you on the same problems, and you have limited formal power to actually set priorities and assign work. That sounds miserable.
  - questionableans 1y ago
    The way it works is you convince engineers and managers to want to work with you.
    - LPisGood 1y ago
      Making your whole living on influence without authority sounds awful.
      - zb 1y ago
        It’s a lot better than the reverse.
      - questionableans 1y ago
        That’s life. Unless you’re a hermit, a complete pushover, or a slave master, you’re constantly trying to influence without authority. Want to go out to dinner with friends? That’s influence without authority right there. Want to get your PR approved? Influence without authority. Trying to get your point across to strangers online? Ditto.
        the_af 1y ago
        Yes, but the stakes at your job are different. You don't get fired or get bad performance reviews if you fail to convince your friends to go out for dinner. You're not expected to be constantly be doing this either. You are not paid a top salary and get performance reviews based on that. Principal ICs sounds like a high stress occupation...
        1y ago