Good techies Bad careers

Introduction

The best engineers do not have the best careers. They do not get the best opportunities, promotions or assignments.

They might be the horsepower behind an engine, but they remain under-appreciated. Instead the tier-2 and tier-3 players are the ones who win. This happens often.

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This affair is hurtful to techies’ careers. Also, this keeps organizations from utilizing 100% of their team’s strength.

As part of this blog series we will discuss the phenomenon.

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Why should you care ?

You work hard.

You work late nights, weekends and holidays. But you are not rewarded. Supposedly because your presentation wasn’t good enough. How would you like it ?

I don’t. This is why you should care !

I’ve seen Engineers …

Such mistakes are called blindspots. If you make such mistakes, then you might be missing on growth and opportunities.

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Also, getting help will be difficult. Most people will either not be qualified to help you, or will not want to help.

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Remaining option – an objective outside Perspective. This is what I present here – Perspective.

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Doubting Dave

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Don’t believe me ??

Keeping my opinions aside, let me present some facts. Following describes real stories of 2 engineers from the same team.

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When the Best sank :

Ravi was a good software techie. (hope he still is)

Like other techies, he had a strength area – UI and UX. He was a self learner, curious and hardworking. He took time to come up with ideas, experiment them and develop prototypes.

These skills are NOT found with most developers.

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But, Ravi had baggage – his Ego.

His ego displayed in various forms. He was brash with his seniors, sarcastic to his leads and demeaning to his peers. He taunted others to do work as good as he did.

While he did write good code, he had excessive pride about it; an inflated sense of self.

Ravi went on insulting people for some time. HR and Leaders heard the issues. But, they allowed Ravi to stay because of his tech skills.

One day the organization had to downsize. Among the list of many incompetent developers, was a fantastic techie. Ravi was fired 😕😕

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And the worst survived :

Another techie in the same team was a lesser developer. Lets call her Tripti.

I would call her a downright idiot. But let’s just agree that she was less competent than Ravi. Tripti wasn’t fired despite the downsizing. This surprised me.

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Her characteristics:

Whenever she wasn’t able to finish with her work, she took help. Maybe it was her feminine charm or people skills, maybe both. But, she mostly got the work done.

That’s what matters anyways !

Tripti had gaps in tech skills. But, she was able to cover her gaps with her people skills. This has helped her avoid trouble till date.

Last I heard she was with the same organization.

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What do we see ?

A good developer wasn’t able to grow to his potential. At the same time, another one with lesser skills was able to establish herself.

The organization obviously wants to stay efficient and profitable. In that case Tripti should’ve been the one let go, and not Ravi.

Question : Was the organization inefficient in identifying the wheat from the chaff ?

I have news. Tripti’s organization is working and profitable. This is proof that they make some good decisions. To a certain degree – the organization is capable of separating the wheat from the chaff.

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Question : Could this be the exception rather than the norm ?

Better technical minds getting beaten is a common phenomenon. I’ve known MNCs, small to mid level startups, private practices and freelancers and dozens of techies.

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Question : Perhaps, I am biased towards one vs the other ?

Far from it. The blog is not a criticism of Tripti or techies like her. It’s recognition of the fact that she survived without technical skills. She must have some other skills that aren’t commonly acknowledged.

Story continues …

After Ravi was let go, I kept in touch with him. I had worked with him and wanted to help him. During our conversations, I observed a surprising behaviour. Ravi fully blamed the organization for him being let go. In his mind, he was an ideal employee and wasn’t fit to have been a part of the leaving club (people who were fired were not the brightest).

I wanted to help Ravi understand how his ego hurt him. But, a hurt egoistic person is not open to feedback. Also, I did not have a good way explaining his ego barrier to him.

I mean … how do you explain to someone with a big ego, that he has a big ego ??

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Until one day I read a Farnam Street blog. Eureka (without the naked running 😌😌😌 ) ! I found a mental model of explaining the problem, without hurting Ravi’s ego. That moment – this blog series was conceived.

The information should help you understand – what happened to Ravi and what happens to many others.

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Time for Opinions

Think of the differences between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. Tesla, a much better engineering mind, died broke and penniless in the end. Edison on the other hand owned a big corporation, still creating value for the world today.

This is not to say that Edison was anything less than a genius. Heck, I don’t even qualify to rate him. What I mean is : At times, best people fail and the second or third best people succeed in the real world.

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This happens because of blindspots. If you have learnt to drive a car in India, then you are less likely to understand the term blindspot.

Driving tip: In India roads are our “baap ki jayedaad” (ancestral property). It belongs to us, and so we don’t have blindspots.

Jokes aside, what happens is – between the rear view mirror and the side view mirror, there is a gap. This gap cannot be seen from either of the two mirrors, and is called blind-spot.

If another vehicle is in the blindspot area, then despite checking both the mirrors, I will not see the vehicle. I might mistakenly turn towards the vehicle, causing an accident. The only way to see the other vehicle, is to “turn one’s neck” and look at the blindspot area. ( through the rear seat window )

Blindspot as a term has become synonymous with mistakes we make without realizing the consequences they create. ( because we cannot see the consequence ).

As part of this blog series – I intend to help techies see their blindspots.

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Sequence

We divide the blog series into three parts:

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I will consider myself successful when … Any layman from the IT industry understands the material easily.

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Disclaimer

The intent is to help people see the chinks in their armour; not to look down upon others. I do not consider myself better than the ones I critique.

Also, I share my truth and not the truth of all others. This truth might cause discomfort but needs to be tasted for one’s growth.

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Let’s get going !