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Hey. I'm 1 year into a junior backend role at a series B startup. I know that developers hop around from company every 2-3 years, but I really want to get a good sense of a 5 year plan for myself. Right now, I make 80k. Should salary be part of my 5 year plan? Or should I just aim for promotions and hope that a pay increase comes with it? Not sure whether to prioritize money or career or life or learning at this point. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!
Top comments (4)
You're asking the wrong people with the wrong context.
The right people and right context is you and what you want out of life itself.
Namely what are your long and short term goals in life. Maybe you want to travel, or settle down, or build toward something "bigger". We don't know, only you do. Those are the questions you want to ask yourself without considering your job itself.
Most of the time an answer isn't focused on work. Few people live to work. Maybe you are one of those people that only works, and lives to work 24/7 and grinds it out. That's fine too, but if you're not one of those people who want to spend their entire lives working then put work in the context of what you want out of life instead, then priorities will shift based on what is actually important.
Sure a promotion might be great for your professional career, and look good on a resume, but it wont make you happy if it collides with your life goals.
From your longer term goal you should build those shorter term goals, and then take your career in perspective to those goals you've set for yourself in the long and short term. Maybe your short term goals are all job related to setting yourself for longer term success, then sure! What about your day-to-day life? Or are you just "waiting for retirement" and will do whats needed for you and your family until then? Are you fine grinding it out to be old and tired at 65?
There are a multitude of questions and only one place to get answers to those, from there your job priorities should appear once your personal goals in life are determined. You can ask for help on how to achieve your long/short term goals, but you can't ask for help building your own goals as they are unique to you.
Good luck with your opportunity, regardless of what you want out of life it should help give you freedom and flexibility to "pick a path".
If you don't have to earn a specific amount of money in a specific time frame to repay debts or loans or something like that, I'd say don't plan ahead so far. Both technologies and career paths evolve so quickly, planning 5 years ahead be one more of a hurdle than anything else.
Prioritize quality of life over both salary and career goals.
If you make 80k as a junior and decide your life is about the cash if you are in the UK stay right where you are. My first junior job was 15k and I spent more than that on the commute and parking fees just to gain the commercial experience on my cv to find a decent job.
Don't look at the average "jump time" of others only you will know when it's right to leave a company, some jobs I've been at some jobs 18 months, others 3.5 years some I would have stayed longer at but the work dried up others I've left for personal reasons but every time the company has understood.
Don't rely on promotions, the best way to move up the ladder is act higher than your current position and use that experience to switch company to a higher position. If your current employer thinks your worth more money or "better" title they'll promote you of their own accord without your knowledge of them even considering it.
While at your company, make the most of their offerings to improve your skillset. Too often people fail to do their due diligence in seeing what offerings your company has to improve your communication, leadership, and technical ability. If you find your company offers any such thing, bring it up to your manager (incase it needs their approval) and take advantage of it. It will help you become a person of value and ultimately makes you more valuable to the team.
While working at a Fortune 500 company, I worked as a WebFocus Developer and always had additional time to spare because I would get my tasks done fast. Eventually I learned that my company had a Toastmasters Club and boy did that help with my communication and leadership ability. They covered all the costs for it. I also signed up for various in-person leadership courses that would cost around $1,200 - $2,000 per person and my company paid for that as well. They served me well to this day. They also had free subscriptions for platforms like Mango (used it to learn a bit of the language of my German / Indian colleagues) as well as free technical books so I can grow in my main field and other areas.
I would eventually leave the company for seminary (company was phenomenal) and will always recommend people in a corporate job to find out what the company offers that you can then make use of.
Just so you know who is speaking to you, I worked 4 years in that Fortune 500 company and now work with my wife in our own Agency and truly enjoy owning my own business over the corporate job thanks to flexibility and love/passion for the field.