Career Zigzag

It's quite common for me to get approached by junior engineers in my organization asking about career advice. I keep getting asked this same question. Should I stay or should I go?

Well, there are multiple sides to this issue. For starters, staying gives the person the respect and recognition one seeks that comes with seniority. However, the older you stay, the longer retribution lasts for past mistakes. Your managers will remember that one time when you really screwed up. Came late or made them feel really stupid.

It's an unfortunate fact that people will remember the bad more than the good. Therefore sometimes the only way to escape a reputation is to actually move on.

Now change is good usually. Sometimes it's the only way to progress. However, in complex technical positions, the ramp-up time is usually long and hard. A good engineer would be productive and carry their own weight between 6 and 12 months. And get stellar in around 2 years. About the same time that people feel burned out and start considering moving on. Especially if they are ambitious and like to diversify their experience.

As a manager, it's a well known fact that good people eventually leave. They're always sought after by head hunters and get approached continuously to better, more challenging and more attractive offers that eventually would take and go on.

The good thing about change is that the minute it happens from the employee's stand point it means that you're starting over and oftentimes from scratch. Not the same case with staying where the past is always there to haunt even the best of achievers.

Another good reason for change is the "take-the-credit-and-run" case. Once a new product ships, the people behind it get a ton of credit. Once it hit the market and the company starts getting feedback from customers (or none in the cases of a bad product) everything starts to be considered. Management starts looking for people to throw the blame at. And it's usually people who remain behind are the ones who take the blame. So moving on is actually a way to protect the achievement and escaping retribution.

Sometimes, the only way up is sideways. In highly competitive environments an underachiever might turn out to be a superstar for a different organization. Never let loyalty get in the way of your future, specifically because in the corporate world there is no corporate loyalty to the employee. A person could be the best employee and gets kicked out the next day due to corporate politics.

Whatever you decide make sure that you never stay or leave because of people. Yes, it's true a bad manager would always be an obstacle, but people leave at all levels and a bad manager or a good manager is not guaranteed to be there the next day.

To remain or leave is a personal choice, your career is your personal responsibility. There is no one right answer. There is no way to know what the future has in store for you. So making the decision needs to be made by the person who's life is going to impacted. People make mistakes, and sometimes the good choices. How future unfolds, will always be a mystery.