Why Experienced Developers Take Backward Move for a Better Paycheck
Why experienced developers shouldn’t fear demotion
“I downgraded my role from tech lead to senior. I now make 50% more but I’m worried about my downgrade.” — source
Why you shouldn’t worry about a downgrade? What would you actually miss if you stayed? Does a title really matter?
The downgrade is subjective. You start at the lowest point in the new tier.
Developer levels at Amazon matter. Developer levels at XYZ don’t matter.
Let’s see other reasons for downgrading with a better paycheck.
You won’t be a good manager
Management is a new arena for developers. Developer moving to management isn’t a promotion. Management is a new lane in your career.
Not every developer is a good manager.
Coding and managing people isn’t sustainable. A manager can’t code at the same time. This combo never ends well.
Tech leads are switching lanes a lot. They go from meeting to meeting and in the meantime code. Most tech leads don’t do their job well because of this constant switch.
