SWE3 PhD boyfriend upset over less-qualified colleague promotions
Hello blind, my boyfriend has a PhD in CS (computer vision) with 40 publications. Due to the poor job market, he ended up in Kentucky for his first job and has been there for just over a year. He is level 3 making $156k doing object detection and segmentation. Most of his colleagues never went to college and certainly have zero formal education in CS. He feels he is far more qualified than they are. He says they don't even know what a breakpoint is. Today, two of them were promoted to level 2. He is taking this as a personal attack and insult. I don't really know how SWE levels work but I'm sure these promotions are not meant to hurt him personally. What can I tell him? Also he wants to relocate to the Bay Area and be in the heart of the action but says he needs to do months of interview prep before applying, does that sound right?
Prepping before interviews is the right approach, but in the meantime it might be good to remind your bf that unlike academia, people don't get promoted by age or experience. In fact, you'll find plenty of absolutely insufferable, unskilled idiots in or from FAANGMs etc, leadership positions even. It's not fair but it is what it is.
Being personable is more important than being competent.
For the vast majority of jobs, there’s diminishing returns on raw mental horsepower.
This. Promotions have very little to do with competence or qualifications. Infact, they might act to your detriment. Ppl who don’t accept or realize this are doomed to be perma disgruntled employee
He is upset that other people are reaching a level that's still lower than his own? He needs to get over himself. A rising tide lifts all boats. He'll do better in his job and in life by supporting others. Spending months preparing for interviews is normal though. Also levels aren't just about qualifications... and not just personality either. Part of it is what you've delivered and how impactful it is. Im sure the company is happy he published 30 times, but that's not what drives the bottom line.
Well, he did create a model for his task that was way more accurate than the previous one. I've looked at his performance reviews and the only thing noted is that he doesn't comment his code. He says he refuses to do this because it makes them more dependent on him... He won't listen to what anyone else has to say about it either
Yeah that sounds bad. To be successful he needs to be able to help others and listen to othets and grow. Behavioral interviews at fang will require him to... tell a story about how he helped a colleague, or about a disagreement where he turned out to be wrong. Helping a junior employee get promoted could be a good story and his resentment is inhibiting his ability to provide value or take credit. It's also an opportunity to explain concepts. If I hire someone with a phd I want them to be able to teach me things. If he doesn't practice writing comments and explaining ideas he's going to have a harder time making a good impression.
I’m gonna guess social skills are his weak point. Being the smartest person in the room isn’t helpful if you can’t influence people to buy in to your ideas or just seem like an ass.
This isn't true. He's just so sensitive and gets upset easily. His director told me he was "the nicest guy"
Yeah it is true. You mentioned in another comment that he doesn’t comment code because he believes it makes them dependent on him. That’s the opposite of what someone with strong social skills does. Nice is what I desire in friends. I want coworkers who are strong, confident and calm.
So he's at level 3 for just one year and is upset that two others were promoted to level 2? Tell your BF to grow up. Entitlement gets you nowhere.
I work in computer vision. Someone with a PhD and 40 related publications won’t have a problem finding a job in this market unless there are some major red flags. To me, him getting offended about lower level employees getting promoted to levels that are still below his suggests that there are red flags all over the place in his interviews. He seems to have social/behavioral issues he needs to work through.
Corporate life is not a meritocracy, never has been never will be. The sooner he internalizes this the better, for his own mental health. He overvalues his qualifications. Sometimes they just like other people more, or they've been there longer, or they golf with the boss on weekends. Plus why is he so bothered by people under his level getting promos? Weirdo behavior
He has zero political skill over his skips
He is a level 3 and he is upset because someone was promoted to level 2? What's his problem? Anyway, most companies pretty much promote new grads from the entry level to the next level in a year or so, so these promotions are pretty standards. That's my assumption.
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