This is going to be a somewhat open post about Solution Architecture, mainly for AWS and Google Cloud. 12 YoE currently holding a position compared to Sr Staff. Lately I’ve been toying with the idea of switching to some Solution Architect role at AWS or GCP. I’m tired of the daily office politics and I believe I’d do great with short-term engagements. What’s the reality of Solution Architects for career growth, job movability and overall satisfaction with the gig?
Not sure about growth but I enjoy my SA job a lot more. More variety, no on call bullshit. If I make something that needs to be maintained, I hand it off to engineeeing. Possibly lots of travel depending upon your position. Pay is better in general as well.
Is this a one off gig you were able to get or did you make a career as SA in diff companies? One of my concerns is having to understand a stack so deeply that the tech knowledge you built over the years doesn’t apply for other gigs.
This is my first SA gig. All of my peers are very competent across tech in general. Yes there is specialization but mostly you are using your general experience to help customers. If you do make the switch it may be difficult to switch back. Some people think you go into SA bc you aren't that passionate about engineering. Be prepared to travel.
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I went from SDE to SA and back. Now I'm considering switching to SA yet again. Pros. Lots of travel. More fun prototyping and learning. No oncall and generally less stress. Cons. Slightly less pay for same level. Lots of paperwork and such. It's harder to progress to the more senior levels. I guess it doesn't hurt to try with your yoe.
Never met a SA that new what she was talking about. Mostly glorified sales people that what DNS stands for.
How are general SA vs Eng interactions at Amazon? Conflicting, collaborative, “those pieces of shit want something again”? :)
I’d say passive. They just pass whatever client engineering team have to say to product or directly to a team.
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