One important question, which in my opinion could be difficult to answer for a mid-level engineer, is "what is impactful?". If you answer that, yes, you can pick up something and go for it.
Nevertheless, as mid-level engineer your are not always exposed to strategies, so it's not easy to find that answer.
For having that exposure, in my opinion, the mid-level engineer should ask for advice to Tech Lead or Engineer Manager to figure out how to get that exposure, and so find the answer about what is impactful.
In summary: The road to be the go-to-person or solving a strategic problem to achieve a promotion is not straight
I like the stories about becoming the go-to person.
My first instinct when reading this was "Sure, but you can't choose that you don't want to work on the migration and you want an impactful project".
But a more mature way of thinking is this idea of becoming very knowledgeable on the critical path of your team. That way, the opportunities will always run through you because you made yourself knowledgeable.
I have found this to work even when some other people "have an advantage" over you in knowledge or experience. People can't focus on everything. Over time you can find your niche of deep knowledge.
Opportunities only come to those prepared to take them.
> My first instinct when reading this was "Sure, but you can't choose that you don't want to work on the migration and you want an impactful project"
It depends but in general deprioritizing work that isn’t worthwhile can be better for the company. Your manager and company want you to have more impact so protecting your time is good for everyone.
I agree, I meant in the sense that the work could be worthwhile for the company but not for your level/interest. You may be delivering a lot of work at your level but not making the progress to the next one.
Thanks for the reminder of the other post. These kind of situations are great to sponsor others, creating a win-win situation
Understanding the why behind your work is very important. This is a good reminder to not focus on all things shiny.
Thanks for featuring a part of my career story for this one!
Happy to, so many relevant learnings in it!
Great lesson and I feel like one most engineers need to go through at some point in their career.
Thanks for sharing this, Ryan
Thanks Jordan and happy to! It's a critical part of transitioning to senior
One important question, which in my opinion could be difficult to answer for a mid-level engineer, is "what is impactful?". If you answer that, yes, you can pick up something and go for it.
Nevertheless, as mid-level engineer your are not always exposed to strategies, so it's not easy to find that answer.
For having that exposure, in my opinion, the mid-level engineer should ask for advice to Tech Lead or Engineer Manager to figure out how to get that exposure, and so find the answer about what is impactful.
In summary: The road to be the go-to-person or solving a strategic problem to achieve a promotion is not straight
I like the stories about becoming the go-to person.
My first instinct when reading this was "Sure, but you can't choose that you don't want to work on the migration and you want an impactful project".
But a more mature way of thinking is this idea of becoming very knowledgeable on the critical path of your team. That way, the opportunities will always run through you because you made yourself knowledgeable.
I have found this to work even when some other people "have an advantage" over you in knowledge or experience. People can't focus on everything. Over time you can find your niche of deep knowledge.
Opportunities only come to those prepared to take them.
Great post, Ryan!
> My first instinct when reading this was "Sure, but you can't choose that you don't want to work on the migration and you want an impactful project"
It depends but in general deprioritizing work that isn’t worthwhile can be better for the company. Your manager and company want you to have more impact so protecting your time is good for everyone.
I wrote about it a little more here: https://www.developing.dev/p/protect-your-time
I agree, I meant in the sense that the work could be worthwhile for the company but not for your level/interest. You may be delivering a lot of work at your level but not making the progress to the next one.
Thanks for the reminder of the other post. These kind of situations are great to sponsor others, creating a win-win situation
That is a fact! Generate impact is the most important thing. I tell it in my post about my carreer https://open.substack.com/pub/andredemattosferraz/p/how-did-i-become-an-em-and-why-en?r=33udy5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcome=true