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Ask HN: I'm a demotivated SE because I did not get a promotion. What to do?

7 pointsneedworkadvice10 comments

* I'm a Software Engineer with around 5 years of experience hired as a junior developer 1.5 years back but perform on the level of a Senior Engineer.

* I write better code, can architect, can take a project from start to finish and in general work much better and more productively than my team-mates who have 10+ years of experience. I frequently re-factor things they have written and have 'saved' a project from risks and 'down the line rot due to technical debts' multiple times due to these refactor-ings and other decisions.

* No one from our team will be promoted this year due to reasons and I was looking forward to a promotion.

* I feel that waiting another 1.5years for a promotion is grossly un-fair to me & because my manager and company in general does not seem to value my contributions, the next obvious step is to change jobs.

* The twist is that I'm working on a student OPT visa that is valid only until August this year. If my H1B application is not selected once again this year (by May end), the company would help move me to other development centers around the world. (It's a big-ish company whose name you have heard & whose product you have probably even used)

* I need your views in understanding and evaluating my options.

* I'm also looking for views about how, if I start interviews, will other big companies (think Amazon, Uber, Google) view me w.r.t to my work eligibility and if I should just stay put and demotivated in my current company until at-least May end when I hear back about my H1B.

"I'm a Software Engineer with around 5 years of experience hired as a junior developer 1.5 years back but perform on the level of a Senior Engineer."

I've met many junior level engineers that think they are senior, but just don't have the experience yet.

Being senior is as much about the wisdom and experience as it is the programming aptitude (which is only one part of it).

I don't think you can be considered 'senior' with only 5 years of experience total.

With that said, if you are unhappy with your current wage, start looking for another job. This is exactly how I got raises every few years when I worked as a developer.

Thank you for replying.

I knew the post would entice one of these comments.

This is why I specifically included the 2nd point : "I write better code, can architect, can take a project from start to finish and in general work much better and more productively than my team-mates who have 10+ years of experience. I frequently re-factor things they have written and have 'saved' a project from risks and 'down the line rot due to technical debts' multiple times due to these refactor-ings and other decisions."

- In the end, software is not just about writing code. - Unlike some other engineering fields which have set rules and calculations (think civil engineering) that reduce the risk, each software project can have a lot of variance.... due to which it can end up being very complicated.

- Coming back to the point, I know people who have 2 years of experience & who are at a 'Senior' engineer level. - It's just a title and the semantics is subjective.

The point I was trying to make is that I'm working and producing much more value than the 'Senior' engineers with 10+ years. And not just coding wise.

Further, as I mentioned in the original post, switching jobs is the clear next step... what I'm unsure of is the hiring policy w.r.t work visas.

I you go to another country you'll be working for someone else even if you stay at your company.

True, but will other companies (Google, Amazon, Uber, Linkedin, Salesforce etc) consider me positively for a role given my soon expiring OPT and uncertain H1B ?

The first two companies in your list won't care. They will hire you and move you to another country if you want to.

How are you making this statement ?

Is this from first hand experience or from the general understanding of how they work ?

From first hand experience, I was in the same situation as you right now (unknown H1B and OPT expiring) when Google interviewed me (it did not work out, for reason I don't believe have anything to do with visa). The recruiter knew about it, and both times I talked to them it wasn't an issue.

Additionally, my friend actually interviewed with another company (wasn't Google or Amazon, but the big one in Menlo Park). He was hired, and they gave him a choice to move to another country as needed.

In general, I think they will try to transfer you to another country. The main issue is that the specific country could be limited, and you might not really have a choice as to which country it is.

Awesome, this helps. Thank you.

From first hand experience, big companies are hiring constantly from overseas to the US. If you can pass the interview, they will figure out how to legally get you on payroll. If you are flexible in which countries you will work, so much the better.

However, when you apply to big companies, don't go in saying "I want to be a senior engineer". That means different things at different companies. Quora has some great answers on how the ladders work at the big players; you will see that "Senior" can mean 10+ years of experience at some places. Feel free to send me an email if you want more info about one of the places you mentioned.

Understood. Thank you.

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