I’m currently on the path to a principal-level role at my company. I really don’t know what I think about it. The jump from lead to principal is a big one in terms of workload and stress, and I’ve been told the pay difference isn’t huge.
Older I get, the less I care to ascend the ladder. Even at this point I’m doing it out of a sense of amassing status in case I need it, rather than being motivated by it. And I feel that lack of intrinsic motivation.
I’m mid-career, and mostly just tired of selling so much time and energy to someone else’s enterprise, especially because I watch myself trade away time that should be spent taking care of myself for a stupid title upgrade.
Having never worked at a FAANG company, I'm not sure exactly what the principal role commonly entails. That being said, I've recently been promoted from lead to principal, which is one of the highest titles for software engineers on our tech track. There are basically a few people who are higher in the entire company, which is a medium-sized public company.
The best thing about this company is the work life balance; I never put in a lot of hours. The worst thing is the skill level of most of our software engineers. The thing I hate about this new role is that I'm less connected to the day-to-day work and just getting shit done. I'm in even more meetings now and the expectation is that I'll somehow help to level up the semi-competent people we hire, and make sure projects go smoothly even though everything is built on a foundation of shit.
Fortunately I am paid extremely well. Pay is literally the only reason I accepted the promotion. Sadly, the company probably gets less value out of me now even though we all convince ourselves that this layer of principals and managers is making everyone below us more productive.
I wrestle with this frequently as I am on the cusp of Senior to Principal promotion. Principal means more money but diverting from my preferred sweet-spot of tactical and strategic technical leadership.
The optimal answer for me is to stay at Senior level and enjoy my work to an extent. But I am forgoing the related compensation increase and career progression.
Then my thoughts turn to working for myself or with other friends/associates I trust and potentially seeing more of a reward for the effort I put in every day.
You don't have to rise the ranks. I'm still debating if I should go for a 'senior' role. I've been programming for over 20 years. I was a "senior" in my last job but now I'm just a regular SWE. I get paid well enough and I get enough respect. Do I need more stress/responsibility? Probably not. Mostly I just don't want more pointless meetings.
That status can act like an anchor and prevent things in the future. Once you have that on your resume you outclass yourself for smaller title roles where you might be happier.
A principle helps other and finds ways to add value. You get to deal with the enterprise issues. If you like sticking your nose in everywhere, going to meetings and want to move away from programming this is the role.
It's a role with little power or accountability. Part of your role is justifying your value. The successful ones I have seen have been able to listen, take in everything and convey that message in language a vp understands.
By default I say don't take it you sound happy at your current level. You are better off going the management route or product manager path if you are looking at status, power and higher pay.
I have no interest at all in being some high ranking manager or director in any company. I want to clock in, do my work, and clock out so I can go do what I actually want to do.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job and find my work interesting. I'm incredibly lucky to be where I'm at. But I'm also completely fine just doing my thing and being done for the day.
In some countries it doesn't make sense to transition to higher positions because the taxation will eat up a large chunk of the salary increase, so you end up with significant increases in workload/responsibility but only a slight increase in net pay.
I’m currently on the path to a principal-level role at my company. I really don’t know what I think about it. The jump from lead to principal is a big one in terms of workload and stress, and I’ve been told the pay difference isn’t huge.
Older I get, the less I care to ascend the ladder. Even at this point I’m doing it out of a sense of amassing status in case I need it, rather than being motivated by it. And I feel that lack of intrinsic motivation.
I’m mid-career, and mostly just tired of selling so much time and energy to someone else’s enterprise, especially because I watch myself trade away time that should be spent taking care of myself for a stupid title upgrade.
I think I am a late bloomer bootstrapper.