Comment by temporallobe | Hacker News Reader

Comment by temporallobe | Hacker News Reader

Wish I had seen this thread earlier, as this will get burried now. Oh well, here it goes: I am seriously considering leaving my current position as a lead developer because I am basically taking on the role and tasking of SCRUM master, architect, build engineer, DB admin, UI/UX consultant, technical writer, and not to mention - developer! I often find myself writing unit tests until 11 or 12 because I am stuck in meetings all day, writing requirements, coordinating with other teams, pairing with and mentoring junior devs, and haven’t had a chance to write any of the code I had committed to for the sprint. Sure, I can delegate, but a majority of the team can’t do UI, and no one, not even our PhD-level PO can write requirements in proper English that make sense, so I have basically taken this over as well. Everyone else seems to simply attend meetings and play-act their roles, leaving myself and 2 or 3 of the other senior devs to do 90% of the work (or re-work), all while leadership hounds us to over-commit every sprint and yell at us when we carry over tickets. While I am paid decently, it’s maddening and I am experiencing true burnout. I feel like I could probably work for Amazon and do the exact same work for $700k. Ok, I’m probably not smart enough for Amazon, but I am hoping that I can find a less stressful project for better compensation.

Icing on the cake: my company drastically changed our benefits this year such that our medical copays are double and our deductibles are far higher, so I am effectively taking a cut. Our team was also promised a retention bonus if we remain with the company during the recent re-compete but none of us have seen said bonus for nearly 8 months now and management explains it away as being due to the fact that we’re on a “bridge” contract.

The first thing that needs to be done in this situation is to stop working overtime. By working overtime and completing everything that needs to be done you are sending the message "yes, everything is fine, we got this". If you stop delivering on time, questions will be asked why - and only then things might start changing.

I experienced something similar in terms of having to juggle numerous responsibilities spanning multiple roles. It is unfortunate and not only is your company taking advantage of you, your coworkers are too. This is at least what I experienced where I'd go out of my way to help others yet those I helped rarely paid it back.

I'm in between jobs now and am down leveling in my new role to a senior developer from an architect/manager/lead dev with just as much pay and comparable benefits and plenty of other appealing aspects. It took me 4 months to find the right position, but I was patient. The excitement and relief are palpable.

FAANG companies have never interested me much so I'm willing to take a lower comp, but I still do really well for my area.

My point is that it just isn't worth the headache. A retention bonus probably isn't life changing money so ask if it is worth it at all. Maybe you'll get it before you find that new job, maybe you won't. But focus on what will make your life better, not just compensation and titles.

You're being taken advantage of and not compensated for what you bring to the table.

Good luck!

You’re right about the retention bonus not being life-changing money, but it’s actually a pretty nice chunk (roughly a month’s salary). It’s more about keeping promises and trust. When companies start taking away perks and compensation or weasel their way out of promises, it’s a red flag. I left a really good position at a major defense contractor for similar reasons, then came back to work as an IC for far more moolah.

I recently realized that changing projects, and if it’s not possible within a company, then companies is a very healthy thing. And it’s healthy exactly because you get to drop all that baggage you were carrying and start fresh.

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