In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:
Listener Brad asks,
I am currently a Senior Engineer with a small software company. I have been developing software for more than 20 years. We were recently acquired by another mid sized company. Since the acquisition, things have been going downhill. It feels like they’re trying to nickel and dime their employees to death.
They moved from a bi-monthly to bi- weekly pay, from accrued PTO to Flex PTO, they sat on merit raises for over 2 months , and have paused all promotions unless you are getting a promotion to management. We have a number of engineers who are deserving, but broaching the subject with HR results in excuses, pushback or silence.
I have about a year and a half to be in a position to retire but I love what I do and plan to continue for many more years in the right environment. I’m really on the fence as to whether I quit for a new role or hope that they somehow become more efficient. I’ve been doing this long enough to know they will probably not change. So would you quit?
Hello Dave and Jamison,
My name is Angelo, and I’m writing to you from Italy. I’ve been enjoying your podcast for quite some time.
I’m reaching out because I’ve been working for four years at a small company with 11 people in the cultural heritage sector. Although the company produces software, there are only 2 programmers (myself included), while the rest are roles like graphic designers, art historians, and archaeologists.
It’s a rather unique company in its field, and for that reason, I’m happy to work there, also because I have many responsibilities related to the company’s performance, probably more than I would have in a multinational corporation.
However, there’s a catch. The fact that there are only two programmers, and in this case, I am the more experienced one, often makes me feel that I don’t have the opportunity to interact with more experienced individuals, and this might hinder my growth as a professional as opposed to being in a team with more programmers.
My question is: what can I do to compensate for the lack of work interactions with other developers and to keep myself updated?
I’ve always read that the best growth happens in a company where you’re surrounded by more experienced people, but in this particular case, I find myself in the opposite situation.
I participate in Telegram groups and often read software development books to stay updated, but it’s also true that the hours outside of work are meant for rest and leisure, so they only go so far. How can I keep pace with those working in larger teams on bigger projects? I don’t intend to change companies at the moment.
Warm regards from Italy, Sinhuè
Episode 199: Offshore team influence and time zone fun
Episode 198: Stinky manager and VP overhaul
Episode 197: Rambling co-worker and awkward resume leak
Episode 196: "Offshore resources" and ageist layoffs
Episode 195: Ad-hoc promotion and quitting a huge company with Charity Majors
Episode 194: Leveling up through speaking and negativity
Episode 193: Playing the field and paying for speaking
Episode 192: Giving feedback and messaging a team change
Episode 191: Overshadowed and demos and credit
Episode 190: Disorganized startup and leveling up the team
Episode 189: Building relationships and handling negative feedback with speical guest Jeff Leiken
Episode 188: Drama overload and agile ouroboroses
Episode 187: Interview insanity and making up for lost time
Episode 186: First job negotiation and am I a senior engineer?
Episode 185: Fragile coworkers and soft demotion
Episode 184: Indispensable and IT cold war
Episode 183: Terrible boss code and peer-to-peer mentorship
Episode 182: Lunch and switching to product management
Episode 181: Blocked by back-end and tired of coding
Episode 180: Inspiring attention to detail and moving
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