Ask HN: Shoud I stay or should I go? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Shoud I stay or should I go?

2 pointsbutayni4 comments

I'm working for an Internet start-up who promised land and titles when I initially joined.

Almost a year later, although I have taken the company from strength to strength, when it came to promotions, those with the right surname have seen rapid progression - even though their technical ability is hopeless to say the least!

There is still no sight of the venture capital money which they promised would come over three months ago.

I now have an opportunity to move to a profitable company closer to home - although it is a step backward in my career as I will go back to being a senior developer as opposed to the lead developer which I am now.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

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My mom thinks I'm Supreme Lord of all Technology, so I would be selling myself short if I got a job as a mere "senior developer", right?

Ignore the job titles and all that. Where will you be happiest? Where will you be challenged and be able to grow, and where will you stagnate and end up with an obsolete skillset in five years? (Hint: you won't be motivated to grow your skills as much if you're already resting at the "top")

I obviously don't know all the details, but if you're even asking this question I'm guessing that you want us all to tell you to break from this place and move on to better things. So I'll suggest you do exactly that.

Go.

Is there a difference between Senior Developer and Lead Developer (in your case Lead might mean solo?). VC can sometimes take a long time to work out so I'm not sure we're told enough to know if they are being disingenuous.

But here is the important bit,

"although I have taken the company from strength to strength, when it came to promotions, those with the right surname have seen rapid progression"

Disregarding your mention of discrimination (not relevant to this discussion) you don't feel like you have any upward mobility, and if you don't feel like you have a founder you can talk frankly to about this I think you need to move on.

Take the new position. A few thoughts:

1. yes, it's a 'step back' - but so what? You don't have to stay there forever.

2. You're obviously not appreciated to the level you want to be where you're at. You can't ever change that.

3. If you leave and they're really that bad technically, they'll suffer and you can gloat a bit. They may surprise you, either by getting along without you or finding a replacement who they don't have to string along with broken promises and lies.

4. You will probably be happier simply because you're not dealing with the broken promises. I've been in that situation, and it distracts you from more important things, but is often hard to shake off.

5. Only you can look out for yourself - no one else, however well-intentioned they may be - will ever really look out for you (certainly not in the long haul).

It sounds like something closer to home with perhaps even a bit less responsibility will allow you to get settled mentally, rethink your career, and give you some more options without being distracted by the atmosphere at your current situation. Maybe I'm reading too much in to it, but that's how I'm reading it.