Charity Majors argues in her article that taking job hierarchy too close to your heart is problematic. We all want to get promotions and have our contributions recognized. However, this is not a race to the bottom. Getting a position that you hate just because it’s higher in the hierarchy can be damaging to your wellbeing.

I think this is an important thing. I know many folks, who strive for “higher” positions not because they want to make an impact, but because “this is how the world works”. Also, I know situations when people are in the positions they’re not qualified for, but they’re just “too long with the company”, etc.

The main argument is that it’s totally fine to be an engineer and stay on the individual contributor’s track.

There are a couple of advices from Charity on how to make this work:
- Treat work hierarchy not as a ladder, but as a data structure: the hierarchy represents, who does what, but not who is “cooler”
- Involve engineers into the decision making process. If becoming a manager is the only way to make your voice heard, you’re in a wrong organization
- Flatten compensation ranges: it’s not necessary for the managers to earn more than individual contributors. In fact, it can be the opposite in many cases
- Be transparent and make sure that people understand not only what do they do, but also why. It’s not the amount of work that makes people burn out in many cases, but a feeling of meaningless of that work.

#culture