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Strongest Patterns Across Levels: Job Switching Is seen as the “Fastest Growth Lever”

It is true that Loyalty doesn't pay in IT. Even in GCCs on FAANG, “loyalty” is highly overrated. Your skills and experience are highly transferable and mobile.

Corollary to loyalty is switching strategically - every 12-18 Months or when the right opportunity comes along.  A random switch for a 10-15% jump every year is not going to take you far beyond your peers.

Freshers:

The most common concern is getting a job (any job!). Many posts are from developers earning modest salaries but worrying more about “not learning anything.” Common concerns include

• How do I avoid getting trapped in a low-growth role (Bench, maintenance, support role etc)?
• How do I get out of this toxic workplace at a lala-company/startup?
• I have experience in XYZ, but recruiters are looking for ABC
• I work at a WITCH; how do I get into a FAANG/Tech company?

Pro-tip: No coach or consultant can help with these concerns. If you haven’t been able to get  campus-interview, you must network offiline and online (e.g Linkedin) and repeatedly applying for relevant jobs. Tailor your resume for EACH job.

Junior-Level (3–8 YOE):

• How do I stay relevant and avoid stagnation? Can I move from back-end to front-end?
• I am expected to use AI tools but all I do is consume tokens in ABC tool. How can I be more productive and learn more?
• Other common issues  - AI disruption  / Career pivots  / Burnout or WLB / Leadership transitions / International opportunities

Pro-tip: Read and learn more. Raise your hand if there are opportunities at work. Tailor your resume for EACH job you apply to.

Mid-Level (8–14 YOE):  

• Do I continue in IC roles or move to PM/Leadership track?
• How do I address the fear of becoming outdated due to AI automation?

 Pro-tip: Start taking a holistic view of life beyond your job – find a passion, start a family, build on financial security etc. A coach/mentor cannot “guide you” but will ask relevant questions. You must reflect on them yourself and take a decision. 

Senior-Level (14+YOE):  You may already have a blueprint for where you see yourself.

• How do I balance all my life expectations (family, aging parents, EMI etc) against job and commute?
• Do I start thinking of Life after IT?

Pro-tip: Talk to peers and your mentors to ideate. Continue holistic view of life beyond your job – find a passion, start a family, build on financial security etc.  

During my mentoring, I wear the hat of a “life-coach” and look beyond career.

Techies at every stage think their problems are unique, but they are not 

• Freshers fear being left behind in the AI era. Mid-level engineers fear becoming irrelevant in the fast pace. Seniors fear losing leverage
• There is a lot of focus on CTC but most of us forget that consist earning is a key more than a periodic bump. Getting a 50% salary hike and getting laid of in 1 year is going to leave you back in the same treadmill
• Questions about ‘investing’ in property and EMI are common, but very few have financial acumen or discipline
• Many come to rant about ‘family issues and baggage, but don’t have the resilience to address them

 In the end, most career problems in tech are rarely just “tech problems.” They are problems of mindset, discipline, resilience, emotional stability, and long-term thinking.

Strongest patterns Across Levels: Job Switching Is seen as the “Fastest Growth Lever”

It is true that Loyalty doesn't pay in IT. Even in FAANG or Product roles, “loyalty” is highly overrated. Your skills and experience are highly transferable and mobile.

Corollary to loyalty is switching strategically - every 12-18 Months or when the right opportunity comes along.  A random switch for a 10-15% jump every year is not going to take you far beyond your peers.

Freshers:

The most common concern is getting a job (any job!). Many posts are from developers earning modest salaries but worrying more about “not learning anything.” Common concerns include

• How do I avoid getting trapped in a low-growth role (Bench, maintenance, support role etc)?
• How do I get out of this toxic workplace at a startup?
• I have experience in XYZ, but recruiters are looking for ABC

Pro-tip: No coach or consultant can help with these concerns. If you haven’t been able to get  campus-interview, you must network offiline and online (e.g Linkedin) and repeatedly applying for relevant jobs. Tailor your resume for EACH job.

Junior-Level (3–8 YOE):

• How do I stay relevant and avoid stagnation? Can I move from back-end to front-end?
• I am expected to use AI tools but all I do is consume tokens in ABC tool. How can I be more productive and learn more?
• Other common issues  - AI disruption  / Career pivots  / Burnout or WLB / Leadership transitions / International opportunities

Pro-tip: Read and learn more. Raise your hand if there are opportunities at work. Tailor your resume for EACH job you apply to.

Mid-Level (8–14 YOE):  

• Do I continue in IC roles or move to PM/Leadership track?
• How do I address the fear of becoming outdated due to AI automation?

 Pro-tip: Start taking a holistic view of life beyond your job – find a passion, start a family, build on financial security etc. A coach/mentor cannot “guide you” but will ask relevant questions. You must reflect on them yourself and take a decision. 

Senior-Level (14+YOE):  You may already have a blueprint for where you see yourself.

• How do I balance all my life expectations (family, aging parents, EMI etc) against job and commute?
• Do I start thinking of Life after IT?

Pro-tip: Talk to peers and your mentors to ideate. Continue holistic view of life beyond your job – find a passion, start a family, build on financial security etc.  

During my mentoring, I wear the hat of a “life-coach” and look beyond career.

Techies at every stage think their problems are unique, but they are not 

• Freshers fear being left behind in the AI era. Mid-level engineers fear becoming irrelevant in the fast pace. Seniors fear losing leverage
• There is a lot of focus on salaries, but most of us forget that consist earning is a key more than a periodic bump. Getting a 50% salary hike and getting laid of in 1 year is going to leave you back in the same treadmill
• Questions about ‘investing’ are common, but very few have financial acumen or discipline
• Many come to rant about ‘family issues and baggage, but don’t have the resilience to address them

In the end, most career problems in tech are rarely just “tech problems.” They are problems of mindset, discipline, resilience, emotional stability, and long-term thinking.

Here's why India's IT industry is not ready to roll back from RTO/Hybrid:

• Managers want Command and Control ​that they can feel while being F2F
• Managers feel that being F2F facilitate brainstorming, whiteboarding and watercooler conversations. This argument is negated since most client stakeholders are sitting half-way around the globe​
• Managers are used to Managing by Wandering Around (MBWA)​
• Fewer distractions for younger, more junior team members. The fact is that some techies themselves wanted RTO since they felt lonely working remotely
• The unsaid reason and perhaps real reason- The Commercial Real Estate 'Mafia!' They have political clout since most politicians have a share in such ventures!

 

An IT veteran here shaking my head over the click-bait headlines making the rounds. Why?

• Most of the articles in the media quote "Unnamed sources."
  • This may not be true since most senior leaders at the company are probably s #itting in their seats worried about their own roles. They aren't going to be inclined to speak to the media
• "15,000 roles globally." Numbers from India are clear as mud. This is because companies have a workaround to report "layoffs" to government labour authorities
  • The HR generally calls employees asking them to voluntary "resign immediately" if they want severance. It is a simple corporate magic - resignations are not considered "layoffs" and hence don't need to be reported to statutory authorities.
• How do we get to know numbers?
  • A week or two after the forced layoffs/resignations some internal folks may be able to lookup slack and other lists to know the before-and-after

Note for those saying "we need unions" or "lawmakers should help," back to point #2 - company will claim no-layoffs. Just large scale resignation... and everyone winks 😉

Regardless of fuzziness around numbers, a service company laying off 15+ employees, especially in LOW-COST countries like India spells trouble!

In my previous job, I spent over 5 years as an EA at a multinational. I joined just about the time a new CIO had taken over and the EA organization was centralizing.

The next CIO came a couple of years after that and decided on 'federated' structure and many of the 'old time' EAs were shown the door.

The 3rd CIO came 2.5 years later and decided to disband the EA organization in favour of "tower led Architects"... and I had to move on.

If you have been an EA in an enterprise long enough, how many CIO-change-transformations have you survived?