I am a female with 7+ yoe (5years relevant after masters). Worked in each company for 2 years and now since 1.5 years working in 3rd company. I am still a swe2 and with no sight of promotion to senior in next 8-12 months. I see LinkedIn profiles and career paths of people and wonder where did I go wrong. How people even younger (equally or less qualified) than me are now senior and staff? Until last year I was content with it but from last few months I am feeling like I screwed up bad somehow. Early career I didn't realise loyalty to a company mattered so much in long term. But now I am thinking, has switching companies impacted my promotion? I had changed fields in between for 2 years so applied for a swe2 position when I had 4 yoe, but now I think I made a mistake there. I have no complaints about my TC. Just the fact that my designation is still swe2. Looking for career advice if I should be aggressive on the promotion front or be calm and just focus on delivering my best and promotion will happen when it happens? #datascience #womenintech #techcareer
I can’t generalize, but I find that to some extent, job hopping in the first few years get your comp up pretty quickly. Most people however end up with lateral moves. To really climb the ladder, you need to spend at least three to four years at a place because most first promos take onwards of two years (this is just a guesstimate). You are in a good place now, LinkedIn pays well from what I heard. If the ladder is what matters more now than pay, and you are happy with your boss and team, hunker down and really work on it, even if it means passing up higher paying opportunities. Within a year or two you should start to see a difference.
Stop comparing yourself to others , it's literally the best way to stay miserable
Why do you have to mention that you’re a female? Are you expecting any special treatment or sympathy? Or should we look at your situation differently because you’re a female? I’m confused.
I guess you are right that I see this problem as if it's happening to me bcz I am a female which could be wrong. Here are two top reasons for it- One, after looking at so many profiles, I have noticed that this is the pattern in many women, who take up roles in lower positions, who haven't gotten promoted, etc. The percentage seems definitely more in women than men. So I was looking for career advice from women on this. Second, I feel I have lost a lot of drive to take initiative and excel at work after having a baby 2.5 years back and not bcz I am a primary caregiver or anything bcz my husband does 50% of everything. But I just don't feel like going the extra mile. How do I overcome this and become as ambitious and driven as I was before?
Firstly, thanks so much for taking the time to write the wonderful answer. Really appreciate it. I might have mis-communicated in my previous reply about women having their careers slower bcz of some discrimination. I personally have not faced any systemic discrimination. Neither in education nor in the industry and also not at home. I'm definitely not whining about being at a disadvantage bcz of being a female. I have had equal if not better opportunities. What I was struggling is my own lack of confidence and motivation. Don't know if some other people faced this psychological shift in priorities after a major life change like having a kid and how they got back on track.
I did.
If it makes you any better. I am 31 years old and recently became an SDE 2 at Amazon. Was down leveled at Microsoft and Amazon twice. It happens. There is a lot of luck involved in interviewing too. One of my friends got into Google right after college and stuck in the same team there and became staff. I unfortunately was not lucky enough to get into Google after college so I had to take an alternate path to get to where I am today. The important thing is you should not be playing catch up. It is detrimental for your well being. Focus on your health, relationships and your hobbies. You should also have a plan for your growth. May be you could contribute to an open source project as a side hobby, how about reading some system design blogs, how about solving 2 leetcode questions a day, How about exploring a new technology such as blockchain, AI, etc. It takes a lot of hours of effort, sacrifice and luck to be successful. Human ambition has no limit. Once you reach staff you would want to be VP, DIRECTOR Ceo.
You are right. I have so much to be thankful for. Jobwise, I don't see pushing myself and doing what needs to be done. I find it really tough to do that extra bit to make myself noticed. How did you motivate yourself after the setbacks you suffered?