should I risk being labelled incompetent, by telling my stakeholders about my problems or should I put in the long hours needed to get stuff done Neither. You

should I risk being labelled incompetent, by telling my stakeholders about my problems or should I put in the long hours needed to get stuff done Neither. You should out the "star" and give your management the opportunity to solve their problem. What's the problem with the "star"? "Getting stuff done" is only half our job. The other half is "keeping things done". You're probably the first one to discover his charade. (Yes it's a charade if you're hitting deadlines while creating techincal debt for everyone else!) What's management's problem? They understand "getting stuff done" but obviously don't understand "keeping stuff done". They have failed by allowing all this technical debt to be accumulated. Where's the due diligence? The peer review? The code review vs. standards? The regression testing? They need to get their house in order and you're just the person with just the right ammunition to help them get started. Your best option is also the right thing to do: fix the problem long term and give everyone else (management) the best opportunity to do their jobs properly. Anything less is bad for everyone, especially yourself. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint. What you see as lemons is actually a rare enterprise opportunity (at age 23!) to make lemonade. Take advantage and become the real "star".