Yes, this is why so many developers hate the enterprise. But it's hard to imagine any way it could be different (at least outside of the Googles and Facebooks of the world).
One powerful remedy to this is contributing to open source. Granted that may be easier said than done depending on where you work, but open source is where you can build a powerful reputation based primarily on technical excellence. In some ways this can be a parallel career ladder where reaching the top means you get the best of both worlds: a high corporate salary plus the freedom to work on whatever you want. That's pretty rare, but in my experience even very modest open source contributions opened doors for me in shockingly short amount of time.
> Yes, this is why so many developers hate the enterprise. But it's hard to imagine any way it could be different (at least outside of the Googles and Facebooks of the world).
Huh? This is a false dilemma. There are plenty of places that aren't Google or Facebook that are software technology companies: where managers are technical, where engineers are judged on their technical skills and application thereof. Of course, non-technical skills matter everywhere and generally the larger the company is, the more important self-promotion and politics become. Yet if you're good (not just great), you should be able to find a place where management is technical and your technical skills are an asset: if you haven't, keep studying the fundamentals (interviews heavily focus on Computer Science) and take an active role in your industry (open source, etc...): connections you make, that can vouch for quality of your code will be able to make references that actually get you in the door.
Sure, but it also connotes brand name and mainstream recognition. It also suggests that such companies are few and in between. Finally Google and Facebook aren't just technically impressive, they're stand out financially. If it's just a technical organization you're looking for, your choices are much wider.
Comments
Yes, this is why so many developers hate the enterprise. But it's hard to imagine any way it could be different (at least outside of the Googles and Facebooks of the world).
One powerful remedy to this is contributing to open source. Granted that may be easier said than done depending on where you work, but open source is where you can build a powerful reputation based primarily on technical excellence. In some ways this can be a parallel career ladder where reaching the top means you get the best of both worlds: a high corporate salary plus the freedom to work on whatever you want. That's pretty rare, but in my experience even very modest open source contributions opened doors for me in shockingly short amount of time.
> Yes, this is why so many developers hate the enterprise. But it's hard to imagine any way it could be different (at least outside of the Googles and Facebooks of the world).
Huh? This is a false dilemma. There are plenty of places that aren't Google or Facebook that are software technology companies: where managers are technical, where engineers are judged on their technical skills and application thereof. Of course, non-technical skills matter everywhere and generally the larger the company is, the more important self-promotion and politics become. Yet if you're good (not just great), you should be able to find a place where management is technical and your technical skills are an asset: if you haven't, keep studying the fundamentals (interviews heavily focus on Computer Science) and take an active role in your industry (open source, etc...): connections you make, that can vouch for quality of your code will be able to make references that actually get you in the door.
> There are plenty of places that aren't Google or Facebook that are software technology companies
Hint: "Googles and Facebooks of the world" could in fact refer to a company that is not Google or Facebook.
Sure, but it also connotes brand name and mainstream recognition. It also suggests that such companies are few and in between. Finally Google and Facebook aren't just technically impressive, they're stand out financially. If it's just a technical organization you're looking for, your choices are much wider.