Should You Leave Your Team Or Stay?

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SYSTEM DESIGN

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[stefanobailey]

I got down-levelled when interviewing for AWS and only accepted the the L4 position because i wanted the name on my CV. Early on, it was obvious to my colleagues that i should be an l5, but when trying to communicate with my manager, he either didn't respond to my messages or dismissed me. 14 months later, I have found a senior role elsewhere earning a lot more money. I don't like to live with regret, but sometimes i wish i didn't accept the position, but i recognise that i was only contacted for certain roles because of AWS.

[aussieexpat]

Story 2 is exactly me at Amazon right now. L6 here, was on "fast track to L7 for this quarter" until this clown showed up. Now not only is my promo stuck, life is hell and the org is on the verge of collapse. Pulling the rip cord as my skip level seems unflinchingly supportive of this narcissist.

[CupcakeSmasher]

6:03 I'm not so sure on this part. I've been at a startup for almost 3 years now and it is night and day on the growth rate. The downside of being the small fish in a big pond is that you don't need to stretch as much to accomplish tasks. At smaller company, so many more problems fall to you that you are forced to grow.

[xthaone]

1:40 I think anyone outside of tech can universally relate to this case. I encountered something similar when I worked for a facilities department where leaving the team for a promotion with a different employer to grow my career helped me level up.

[seeknndestroy]

Hi Steve!
Could you elucidate the responsibilities at each SWE level from L3 to L8, specifically with an eye towards promotion? Understanding these benchmarks is crucial for excelling in our current roles and for making informed decisions about seeking opportunities elsewhere if progress isn't recognized by management. Thanks for shedding light on this!

[nameuser]

Thanks for answering my question regarding the miserable manager I had. You had an absolutely amazing prediction. Long story short, he was fired 2 months before this video was made.

[YangCT]

Exciting to see more of these videos!!! Great video idea. Takes one to know one, to relate to this

[gammalgris]

It's interesting how things are working elsewhere. My biggest gripe with promotions is rather that you move up the hierarchy and then need completely different skill sets. From technical skills you go more to soft skills, organizing stuff, company politics, etc.. not everywhere you have the option of a technical career, but you still gain wage rises without promotions.

A lot of what you do is defined by how your company is set up and how work and responsibilities are divided/ distributed. No matter what you do, you just see one aspect of the big picture. No matter how good you are, colleagues, other departments or the organization itself can slow you down.

[nc]

Steve is the techlead we need, but not the one we deserve.

[FreedomFinanceFun]

Such good advice about managers. If the manager isn't on your side, they are basically against you

[vyrwu]

Should I accept a promotion (to senior) without salary bump? The company told me moneys tight so there are no raises, but it doesn’t make sense as the revenue and outlook are both positive.

[mingchung]

Your video is very inspiring. Thank you very much.

[sugar_nutss]

Hey Steve! How would you recommend I can keep connections active with previous colleagues and mentors who are not in my company anymore?

[laetitiahebert]

Hi Steve! You have in a previous video said that you don't have a lot of women viewers, I am one, thank you for your videos! Do you have some specific advice for women in particular to reach Staff level? Any good or not as good examples you have seen of women trying to reach that level? Thanks!

[AkritiBhat]

exactly the guidance i needed right now. Thanks!

[quackquack]

Some of the information is Amazon-specific, e.g. tech survey is a great resource for internal transfer but not available if you're applying to another company or at a company that doesn't have tech survey. Also, it would be better to use the job titles rather than Amazon-specific leveling to refer to roles. (i.e. Principal engineer instead of "L7")

[codetora]

Excellent video! Can't wait for the next one.

[fullmastrinio]

I left a company which had pretty bad management for what I thought it was a better one.
I intervewed carefylly, asked all the right questions and ended up in a company with a manager who is micro managing and forcing his technical opinion on the whole team of 5 senior software engineers, nobody can say anything. I mean we say and challenge but he is abusing his power to get his way.

My point is that I asked how the team work and everything to try and understand how they operate and was happy. They have outright lied to me and I am now looking to get out. Its awful but its just the way some companies operate. Also, none of the other senior engineers seem to be doing anything about it, as if they are scared to voice their opinions and jus keep silent and go with whatever the manager sets as a technical direction. Truly awful.

I am thinking as I hand in my notice to give him feedback and explain my reasoning for leaving - Steve, do you think this is a good idea or just not even bother? The guy is not responsive to feedback from what I have seen, but I want to pass that feedback higher as well so the people above understand what is actually going on but I am not sure if I should even bother

[norbertkredisiki]

Great content 🎉 Always looking for new videos from you!

[stepa]

Hi Steve, thanks for the video! Several good points that will stay with me!