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Should I switch stacks/orgs if that could delay my promotion?

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Senior Software Engineer at Series C startup17 days ago

For context: I’ve been working as a Frontend Engineer for 10+ years, I consider myself a skilled engineer and I’m on a solid path to a promotion from Senior to Staff (1 meet expectation / 1 exceeding / 1 defining new standards)…but I’m getting tired of “just” doing FE / I’m in my comfort zone when it comes to my day to day job; I still enjoy the work I’m doing and I also do a bunch of glue work (work x-fn, mentor others lead initiatives, interview candidates)

I have the chance to switch orgs and start working as a Fullstack and then transition to a BE position later, and that excites me a lot, I’ve been wanting to do that for quite a while. Thing is, I won’t be able to perform at the same level I’m performing right now because I’ve never worked on the stack we use for the backend (I do have experience doing backend work here and there with Node/PHP, but I’ve never worked as a BE professionally), therefore I will be taking “a step back” in terms of getting a promotion, to me it sounds unrealistic to perform at peak senior level if I’m making the switch, and this will delay my promotion probably 6-12 months (from my pov). This new org has a good and supporting manager and some exciting projects to work on.

So, I’m debating between a “clear” path to promotion to Staff (with a pay raise) vs switching stacks/orgs and probably delay my promo for another year (assuming things go smoothly) -> and probably not getting a pay raise, or not as significant as the one I’d get from Sr->Staff.

Thoughts? I’m leaning towards switching orgs because that will make me a better engineer AND means more job opportunities in the future (from my pov). As a personal note I also think that the market for FEs has shrinked dramatically in the last couple of years. But I’d love to hear your thoughts!!

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    Tech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
    16 days ago

    In general, if you have a clear path to the Staff Engineer promotion, I'd stick around and take it. As I talk about in the Senior to Staff course, scope starts to become a very important factor. You'll need to have the right team, where you have enough scope and credibility to justify such a senior level. These are things that are only partially in your control, so you should take advantage of that while you have the chance.

    So if the following conditions are met, I'd definitely stick around:

    • you have a clear path to promotion which is time-bound (e.g. you are highly likely to get the promo within 6 months)
    • the team has smart people
    • your manager is supportive
    • you don't hate the work

    You can make the switch after that to what you consider a more employable field, but at least you'll always be eligible for Staff roles going forward.