Related: At the beginning of my career I jumped around from startup to startup doing hardware, …

Unfortunately sometimes the best way to advance, salarywise or otherwise, is to leave. The industry should do a better job at retention.

At the top of every source file I work on is a copyright. I maintain a program where some of those files say copyright 2014, and I created those files the first time. It's a weird feeling sitting in a single codebase that long. Satisfying but also I can't help but wonder if there are other things I could have been doing instead.

I haven’t had a raise in two years. In fact some of my benefits have been reduced, so I’m making less than when I got hired. Next week I start a role with a 20% pay bump. Staying is only justified if your company actually reacts to the realities of the world and the job market.

It doesn’t though. I’ve left entire knowledge bases and bulletproof tools behind and haven’t looked back. Constant maintenance is a sign of shitty design. A hallmark of craftsmanship is leaving a supportable low maintenance environment in your wake - most people’s jobs exist in a world of shitty products and the maintenance environment around them. Linus Torvalds or Ray Eames could live wherever the fuck they wanted and their impact to the “backbone” of the world would still be immeasurable.

I've been a consultant for about half my career and had runs of 8 years and 4 years (where I am now, so at least 4). Sticking around is harder, because there's a adrenaline rush of getting up to speed and knocking off the low hanging fruit, not to mention the salary bump. But sticking around is more rewarding in terms of long term impact, imo. In fact, I wrote a blog post about the joys of sticking around: https://letterstoanewdeveloper.com/2023/08/07/the-benefits-o...