peterkim blog

One piece of advice my current boss gave me was to never chase titles. I think that’s good advice. I think there’s a lot of “title inflation” going around. But at the same time, it’s tough to not consider titles because they clearly indicates your place on the totem pole.

Out of college, I started out as QA Engineer (I probably skipped the Associate QA Engineer title because I had interned there). Then I became a Senior QA Engineer. It was nice having that “Senior” title. But when I wanted to become a programmer, I knew I would have to start at the bottom again. I lost the “Senior” part and became a Software Engineer. Now, after 2.5 years of being a Software Engineer, instead of progressing in a pure development role, I’m trying to transition into a Technical Consultant/Consulting Engineer role. And I’ll have to go back down to the bottom again. If I get this job at the company I’ve been interviewing with, I’ll be an Associate Technical Consultant.

I know it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m doing what I think is best for my career at a company that I like. I think it’s good for me to constantly be in positions where I have to prove myself. Those are the times when I learn the most. I think a lot of people too often allow their titles to define what they do (or more accurately, what they don’t do). At my current company, although I’m the most “junior” Software Engineer, I feel very proud of what I’ve accomplished here. In fact, I know I’ve added more value to this company with my work than some of the other, supposedly more “senior” engineers have. While that might cause some people to think they’re being undervalued or underappreciated, I think as long as I continue to work hard, my time will come. Someday I hope to be “Senior” or “VP” or “Chief” something. But maybe it won’t happen and maybe it doesn’t matter.