This was me, given a variety of factors I ended up being lead on a big project right out of uni. We did end up shipping the product, in a state that could be discussed how well it went, but what do you expect from a fresh graduate.
On one end I learned a ton, and probably the most important, how to deal with responsibility and pressure. But at the same time I can really see myself in this article, I ended up choosing another road, I was bored with the product, but the company didn't want me to switch to a different product or team, and my team itself was treated like dirt, so I ended up leaving.
I really tried knowledge sharing and getting others to be independent on the product, but we didn't have the right people, and the culture of the company simply didn't value that trait in newer hires.
I could have made so much more money if I stayed, but it is still far to early in my career to become an 'ivory tower' architect.
> I could have made so much more money if I stayed
Are you sure that isn't a bit of a "glass is half empty" perspective? There's no upper limit to how much money you can make by choosing your own path. (If, hypothetically speaking, you were inclined to pursue big $€¥£).
Definitely, my prioritized as mentioned in my post; lied with my well-being, and not just getting a pay raise, otherwise I would've stayed. It could be argued that I could get a raise somewhere else, and I also have gotten that, but not the amount I would've gotten if I stayed. I am still quite early in my career, and I am already in the upper bounds of what I can make as an employee given the length of my career (99th percentile). And when finding a new job, even when I've gotten recommendations been difficult for them to even match my old salary, simply because I haven't been out of university that long, but command a much higher salary than normal.
Would you as a product owner / manager hire an engineer that has been out of university for two years with a bachelors, given that person says he wants a senior/lead engineer salary? Honestly, from my experience even when I've gotten recommendations, talked about previous projects, they still don't want to shell out what I cost.
The plan is definitely to keep pursuing new experiences and at some point either begin consulting or start a startup. But for now I want to experience a few different companies. I also want a few projects under my belt before I begin doing that. That said I am already in the 99th percentile in my country given my length of career, so I have nothing to complain about, but I am definitely gonna keep pushing.
And honestly right now my priority is not making the big bucks, I could pursue that, but I'd much rather work on awesome projects than slave away at some legacy code for the maximum amount of money.
On one end I learned a ton, and probably the most important, how to deal with responsibility and pressure. But at the same time I can really see myself in this article, I ended up choosing another road, I was bored with the product, but the company didn't want me to switch to a different product or team, and my team itself was treated like dirt, so I ended up leaving.
I really tried knowledge sharing and getting others to be independent on the product, but we didn't have the right people, and the culture of the company simply didn't value that trait in newer hires.
I could have made so much more money if I stayed, but it is still far to early in my career to become an 'ivory tower' architect.