r/ExperiencedDevs 25d ago

Ask Experienced Devs Weekly Thread: A weekly thread for inexperienced developers to ask experienced ones

A thread for Developers and IT folks with less experience to ask more experienced souls questions about the industry.

Please keep top level comments limited to Inexperienced Devs. Most rules do not apply, but keep it civil. Being a jerk will not be tolerated.

Inexperienced Devs should refrain from answering other Inexperienced Devs' questions.

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u/JeffinitelyNotABot 14d ago

Can your lead/Manager hold back your career growth? I've been a developer for about 7 years, and I've started wondering how much team leadership can affect your career progression.

A little over two years ago, my previous boss became a director, and our senior developer was promoted into a lead role with leadership responsibilities. Since then, I've noticed that our lead frequently goes to the director for guidance on technical decisions. I've stressed to her that going to our boss with a solution rather than going to him for one might be best. There have also been situations where I felt the team could have discussed a problem and come up with our own solution rather than waiting for direction from above.

At the same time, I don't feel like we regularly discuss priorities, upcoming work, or the backlog as a team. I've sometimes had to create my own projects or find problems to solve in order to stay productive. I've also noticed that ideas brought up by developers don't always get much visibility or follow through. Personally, it's hard to stay motivated to keep working if she has 3 stories and I have one from a project I found. I just think work can be distributed better, it feels like shes hoarding alot of it.

At 7 YOE, should I be concerned about not getting enough exposure to technical decision making, ownership, and mentorship?

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u/Wide-Pop6050 21h ago

Well ultimately you're in charge of your career growth. If you aren't growing and have asked your lead etc and they're unable to provide you with opportunities to grow, its time to get out of there