Getting Promoted as a Software Engineer

Promotions are the questions we get asked about most. These episodes cover how promotion decisions actually get made, how to build a case your manager can take upstairs, what changes between the junior, senior and staff levels, and what to do when you have done the work but the title has not followed.

39 episodes of Soft Skills Engineering, the weekly advice podcast where Dave Smith and Jamison Dance answer software engineers' questions. Every episode is free, and each page below has the listener's question in full.

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Every episode about getting promoted

  1. Episode 529: Zoom calls on my open floor plan and laconic staff engineer
  2. Episode 526: Why can't I get promoted so quickly after my last promotion and I got hired as a software engineer but ended up doing ops
  3. Episode 523: (Rerun of 331) Prickly ticket and title downgrade
  4. Episode 521: negotiating . . . now? and doing good work is not enough for promotion?
  5. Episode 499: Should I quit my solo dev job with a sports team and senile seniors
  6. Episode 482: I got a promotion, but a tiny raise and an imposter interviewed for my team
  7. Episode 467: I can't get promoted if I do my job and should I get a degree to get a job in this economy
  8. Episode 460: Losing autonomy and I got skipped for a promotion even though I'm awesome
  9. Episode 448: Title over salary and from figure skater to software developer
  10. Episode 426: I got too many promotions and I have anxiety about getting fired
  11. Episode 419: Yoda or Han Solo and I swear I'm senior
  12. Episode 416: My boss wants me to build dark patterns and getting promoted without writing code
  13. Episode 409: Fancy title to IC and CRUD is crud
  14. Episode 402: It's all on fire and title inflation
  15. Episode 388: Money not compliments and principal engineer coding guidelines
  16. Episode 377: Short Tenure Promotion and too much free time at work
  17. Episode 351: Senior hoarding and layabout lead dev
  18. Episode 343: Tech lead/manager and discouraging seniors
  19. Episode 335: Senior questions and overly optimistic
  20. Episode 331: Prickly ticket and title downgrade
  21. Episode 330: Mixed signals and not ready for senior
  22. Episode 291: Hyper-productive team lead and hyper-unproductive senior engineer
  23. Episode 285: Staying technical as a manager and skill over seniority
  24. Episode 268: Title inflation and solo remote engineer
  25. Episode 267: Cheap promotion raise and live coding blues
  26. Episode 261: Anxious about work and senior imposter
  27. Episode 233: Manual unit testing and WFH demotivation
  28. Episode 230: Not seeking promotion and taking code
  29. Episode 222: Cowboy CTO and underpaid after promotion
  30. Episode 195: Ad-hoc promotion and quitting a huge company with Charity Majors
  31. Episode 186: First job negotiation and am I a senior engineer?
  32. Episode 185: Fragile coworkers and soft demotion
  33. Episode 179: Pushing preemptive promotion and de-motivated by promotion
  34. Episode 155: What do you think about employee monitoring software and how do I get un-demotivated after losing interest in software dev?
  35. Episode 116: Weekend Warrioring and Reaching the End of the Career Ladder
  36. Episode 75: Self-Promotion For Wallflowers and Moving in a Year
  37. Episode 54: Sneaky Contractors and Job Titles
  38. Episode 19: Firing someone for a coding mistake and getting demoted
  39. Episode 9: Deadlines and Titles

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Browse all 530 episodes or ask Dave and Jamison your own question.