manager told me i cant be promoted right now coz there are already too many principal engineers in the team (3/10). what do you say to something like that? im confused, its not my fault. does this qualify as stack ranking? my workplace doesnt even have a proper process for promotions. its generally a surprize, mostly associated with a minor reorg every few years. yoe: 12 TC: 120k location: socal
Move on
That is lame! Find out criteria for promo and get your manager or skip level to agree on a time-bound plan with actionable steps. If you think it's not going anywhere, start looking elsewhere. IMHO tc is too low for a principal position
Yeah looking elsewhere. I’ve asked for a proper actionable plan, but when I asked I was told to look at current principals as role models and see what their responsibilities are. I mean I’ve been in this position for four years now...
My manager already told me there’s no room for me to promote on his team but he will be happy to find me a new team to promote me to...
Kinda jealous of software folks with the mobility they have.
You need a new manager. Move teams.
I’m not into software, it’s a small org so not as portable.
Time to jump off the boat
It's a thing. While I won't argue with any frustrations there, a balance is also needed. I'd say keep up with your boss and feel out when they think it will be time for another. If it's not anytime soon and they're not doing anything for you, time to move on. If they're willing to work with you to some degree (give you some tasks and a partial pay bump for example or allow you to shadow under one of them and help a bit), then stick around if you think it's worth it. If they opt to give you some work associated with the principal role but no pay bump, I would be suspicious of them trying to give you more work without the actual pay and title. Tech is booming, and there are plenty of jobs open a lot of places. If they want to keep you, they'll work with you.
can’t have too many chefs in the kitchen, step over to a different group
It’s a thing.