Episode 416: My boss wants me to build dark patterns and getting promoted without writing code
Jul 8, 2024
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Podcast discusses the ethical dilemma of implementing dark patterns in products to prevent cancellations. Also covers a listener's challenge of getting promoted without writing code, exploring the distinctions between principal engineers and technical managers in corporate settings.
Resist unethical requests like implementing dark patterns to manipulate user behavior.
Balancing code contributions and architectural work is essential for career growth and promotion in tech roles.
Deep dives
The Impact of Ethical Considerations in Software Development
Developers encounter ethical dilemmas when implementing features like adding friction to the downgrade process to reduce cancellations. The discussion delves into the significance of resisting potentially unethical requests, showcasing examples of dark patterns and the need for developers to navigate moral ambiguity in their work.
Balancing Technical Contributions and Architectural Responsibilities
The episode explores the transition from a senior engineer to a principal role, focusing on the shift in responsibilities towards technical leadership and architectural design. The importance of demonstrating tangible contributions through code implementations, such as prototypes and proofs of concept, is highlighted to showcase impact and readiness for advancement within the organization.
Navigating Career Growth and Role Evolution in Software Engineering
The dilemma of balancing code contributions with architectural work in a tech corporate environment is analyzed. The episode emphasizes the need for engineers to align their contributions with promotion criteria, demonstrate high-impact coding projects, and maintain a balance between technical execution and facilitation to effectively progress in their careers.
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:
“I’ve been assigned a ticket to “add more friction to the downgrade process” in order to decrease the amount of downgrades our app has.
The proposed change has 4 modals pop up before the user can cancel their paid plan.
I would like to push back on this change.
Any tips on how to bring up the fact that this is potentially unethical / a dark pattern?”
I work for a mega corp software company as a senior engineer. My boss and I have been working on a promo for me to principal for the last year (I was passed on for the last cycle and so we are trying again in a cycle next year - aka still 8 months away). I previously was in the top 5 PR contributors in our org of 450 engineers, but we were reorged and I haven’t written a single line of code in 3 months. I enjoy doing architecture work and helping unblock teams with technical design solutions, but I’m not sure if not writing code is helping or hurting me. Is it just part of career growth that engineers at a certain level stop writing code and it’s a good sign for my seniority? Or is a big fat zero code contributions a red flag and I need to look for a role where I’m still shipping things myself?
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