[notfaang]

I hate to say this, but I do "everything" (exclusions apply - I am not a data scientist, nor would I know what's involved until I get involved). I am not going to say I am a master of x thing, but it is enough for the purpose of scaling, proper architecture / code quality / etc.

Any areas I lack, I am given the time to research into it, provide available options to management, then build it out solo or with a team.

If it's solo, it eventually is handed over to a team once in production or until the next big project comes across my way.

Also, I have spent a lot of time building rapport with important people that it is easy to get things started when multiple teams are involved (eg integration of multiple systems). I guess knowing how to deal with internal politics is another value-add.

Having institutional knowledge - if you were the original designer of a system (or multiple for that matter), you also become more valuable as you know how things work internally.

I have been doing this for more than 15 years.

Most of all, coding is my hobby. I'm extremely passionate about it, and work on projects outside of work (I have a home lab setup that I build things on, for example). I love reading articles on HN, and programming language reddits to discover what's new.

It's useful to know what's out there so when you encounter a problem, you'll have a lightbulb moment and go, "Oh, I remember reading about this.", and start to dive deeper into the subject matter.

Salary progression went like this at various large companies / startups:

- 100k

- 120k

- 140k

- 155k

- 175k

- 200k

- 340k

I have never been at a FAANG company, not a manager, and my time is spent 100% coding (if not on research).

I'm not saying you need to do what I do to command that kind of salary - it will be different for everyone. I'm describing what I think I'm doing to get that amount.

[brailsafe]

Thanks for answering. I think these are qualities that I'd probably share, and while I am in Canada with less than ideal salaries comparatively, I'll hold out hope that I can find myself in a similar position and one that I excel in. :)

Edit: Followup question, have there been any times where you've been kind of miserable or at a total loss for why or what you're doing outside of your current position? Burnt out or otherwise?

[notfaang]

Yes. I always bring it up with my boss if that becomes an issue. Sometimes just taking vacation helps. Good bosses will make sure I'm not bored when I bring it up (eg find a project I'd be interested in, or not have to work with certain teams / people I do not enjoy working with), or will fight for comp increases if that is an issue.

Other times, it's simply no longer fun / I don't feel I'm learning anymore / the level of competition is too strong to advance to another tier, and that's when I leave.

I'm at a point in my life where I have nothing to fear by leaving, so that also gives me a lot of sway as experienced engineers are hard to come by right now.