Career paths for software engineers at large tech companies

Are promotions all politics? Does being a consistent rockstar developer give you that coveted hike?

Turns out managers are humans too. During promotion decisions, there are visible and subtle traits that make someone stand out. Do you just like working on new features or also enjoy diving head on into on-call issues and fixing them yourself? On seeing ugly code, do you feel the ownership of getting your hands dirty for a refactor nobody wants to do? Do you own each aspect of your career growth or leave it to your manager (aka chance)?

Often, we all know these cues deep within but are hesitant to admit our shortcomings when we don’t get the promotion we ‘clearly’ deserved.

A great read from an experienced ‘manager’.