Career paths for software engineers at large tech companies

Across tech, the average tenure of software engineers seems to be rising, not least in Big Tech where it has increased rapidly. With today’s chilly job market having a dampening effect on the number of engineers switching jobs, it’s possible that staying in a role for years will become pretty normal for many in our industry.

So, if you can see yourself at your current workplace for the longer term, it’s sensible to consider the career path options available, and how to get promoted to the next level.

To shed light on these topics and others, I sought out someone who has managed large engineering orgs at a massive company. Ethan Evans is precisely such a person; he was a Vice President of Engineering at Amazon, and has overseen the growth and promotions of more than 1,000 engineers(!) over the course of his career.

Now recently retired from the online retail giant, Ethan can candidly discuss how large companies operate, and which tactics and strategies really work and help colleagues to enjoy thriving careers in big workplaces.

These days, Ethan teaches engineers and engineering managers how to get promoted faster, and runs live courses. He’s also built a 24/7 personalized “AI career coach”, and shares career growth advice in his weekly newsletter, Level Up. His class on fast career growth currently has a 25% discount for the US Thanksgiving holiday, from today through 2 Dec — you can check it out here.

In this issue, we cover:

1. Good performance as a mid-level engineer. Execute independently and try not to complain too much.

2. How to get a slam-dunk promotion to Senior. Have big ideas that are also correct, solve problems leadership didn’t know existed, see around corners, and more.

3. Tactics to get promoted to Senior. Agree a plan with your manager and be realistic about how long it takes.

4. Getting promoted to Principal Engineer. Standout technical expertise, tackling ambiguous & large-scale problems, and paying attention to the business, are all key.

5. Should you be a manager? As you grow more senior, there may be opportunities to become a manager. But is it the best path for you?

6. When to switch to management. Switching early (at L5) or later (L7+) is rare, and is most common at senior level (L6).

7. Different management levels. How being a manager at L5, L6, and L7 levels differ.

Throughout this article, we use ...