In recent months I’ve come across a host of developers that seemingly can’t wait to move into roles as enterprise architects1. In my humble opinion, some of them have barely paid their dues as developers, let alone senior ones.
It got me thinking…
There are plenty of articles out there that push people to climb the career ladder, commit to “the grind”, or help espouse on how to get promoted as quickly as possible. Rarely do you see any advocating for the opposite though.
At what cost?
It’s easy to fixate on the potential financial gains of a promotion. Although to be honest, I think some people may just look for promotion because “it’s what you do”.
I’m not trying to be rich though. I’m trying to be happy.
For me happiness means freedom2.
Freedom absolutely requires a certain amount of money - enough to be financially able to do what you want and not worry too much. But freedom also requires time and a life without overbearing responsibility.
Promotions bring with them higher expectations and increased responsibility.
So before pushing hard for that next rung up the ladder, ask yourself: is it truly worth the extra burden that comes with it?
Inexperience means inefficacy
Moving to a new role will always require learning the ropes to some degree. But if your new role is in any way related to your current one, the foundational knowledge and experience you have will be an extremely important factor in how quickly you’re able to find your feet.
Usually a promotion will mean doing what you already do but with wider influence, more responsibilities and extra accountability added on top. This implicitly means less time to do each thing that is required of you.
The catch here is that if you take the leap before you’re ready, then you’ll be slower and less effective at what you’re doing. This will likely cause you more stress and longer working hours in order to get done what you need to, or will come at the cost of doing a worse job.
If you opt for doing a worse job then the trade-off is simple - you risk damaging your reputation, slowing down your future progression, and reducing your likelihood of receiving a good pay rise or bonus. You are potentially trading more progress now for less progress later.
If you opt for putting in the extra hours and absorbing the stress, then you trade your time for more money. That may be a trade you’re willing to take. It may not be.
Had you waited then you may have been better equipped to handle the new responsibilities put upon you, and that trade would have been more in your favour.
Find your boundaries
I don’t want you to give the impression that I’m recommending staying permanently within your comfort zone. I’m not.
You may find yourself drifting towards comfort in your role. This can even happen pretty quickly sometimes.
Know that you don’t have to deal with that by simply putting yourself up for promotion or moving jobs. Instead, look to the role that you want to do (whether it exists or not) and try to expand what you do into that before looking at promotion3.
Doing this gives you a chance to experience the additional load that comes with the extra work, but also allows you to pull back if you find it too much or decide it’s not something you want to be doing. This is a luxury you don’t have when being promoted4.
There are always more ways up the career ladder than you may expect. They’re usually hidden and come from places that you often won’t anticipate. Ultimately, every company cares about one thing: that you’re bringing in value. If you’re able to do that and you’re with a decent company that has respect for its employees, then the opportunities and the boons will come in time.
Be patient.
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Whilst it’s not really relevant to this blog, I think a lot of developers see architecture as a natural progression from development and an alternative to management that allows them to “stay technical”. The reality is that architecture - at least in my experience - is far more people-focused than it is technical. The need to bring people along with a proposed solution is often lost on those that haven’t done the role, along with the interpersonal skills and patience it takes to do it well. ↩︎
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Happiness is a deeply personal thing. For you it may simply mean being as wealthy or as powerful as possible. If that’s the case, great. Although you probably won’t find much value in this post! Though I do hope that what’s written here prompts you to reflect on what it is you want from life, and perhaps to re-evaluate how you get that if needs be. ↩︎
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There’s a whole other post on how to do this well. Be careful not to step on the toes of others around you when doing this, particularly where they are explicitly accountable for something and you aren’t. Often, you’ll spot gaps within the roles that companies define. Gaps that, if filled, would help make things work more efficiently. Those are usually the best place to expand your responsibilities into, particularly if they fit within a domain that you enjoy. If you get good enough you’ll often find that new roles are created for you as a byproduct. ↩︎
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These days it’s also extremely common for companies to give you a “promotion” that only brings with it a new title and additional responsibility. The pay increase is promised later in the form of being part of a higher pay band. This means you’re not guaranteed to get the pay rise you were hoping for. In turn, it makes pushing for promotion too soon even less appealing when compared to testing the waters first, as the real benefit is often withheld by a year or more anyway. ↩︎