Detătător(in Romanian) aka The EverythingMaker(in English)

How did we end-up in the situation in which the industries are trying to make us do anything at anytime? Can this be a cause for burnout as well?

Have you checked the role descriptions on job boards lately?

I have seen the “Senior Software Architect” responsibilities shifting from all sorts of corners to various other corners. From sales, devops heavily focus, customer management heavily focus or software architecture at the company / projects / multiple teams level, to delivery lead or project manager/architect descriptions.

How can one person not loose its sanity of having to embody the knowledge of any role in a company?

What can a wannabe Senior Software Architect understand from looking at job boards for seeking direction of growth?

Why bothering about a proper career management or consistent job descriptions?

Without clear, aligned role descriptions at the company level, it can be challenging to navigate the paths and grow in a healthy, sane way. Being for growing a set of skills to deepen expertise, or being for career path growth.

If your manager cannot help you understand the gap between where you are today and what you wish for in a clearly manner, he/she will not be able either to spot opportunities for enablement and provide constructive feedback for you. He/she will not be able to vouch for you in the next review cycle in such a way that it will convince the review board.

What is even worse, is that your brain will have a foggy understanding as well, being easily swinged by the winds of needs. You may end up shoveling heavily without any reword welcoming you at the end.

You may end up in an infinite loop of getting tired, burned out.

Therefore, a proper career management is crucial in the software industry due to its dynamic and rapidly evolving nature. Effective career management can lead to job satisfaction, personal growth, professional development, and greater opportunities.

Tools to help a man in need

I do think an industry standard would not be difficult to put in place.

Seek clarity in Role Descriptions, but mostly Your Mind!

Each company shall have a list of role descriptions, ideally in form of responsibilities which can allow a level of freedom and adaptation, not fixed exact frameworks to know.

Even if that is or not your case, seek to have the roles and responsibilities you aspire clearly defined in your mind as well. There are plenty of resources out there to help you out.

Set Clear Goals and Expectations

There is no point in setting goals for the sake of a process. It has to be meaningful to you. It has to ring a bell in your manager’s brain as well.

Opportunities

Nothing can teach you better than doing the job. Finding good suited opportunity will give meaning to your work, bringing a double reward, keeping your mind healthy.

It matters to work with purpose, as without, it will be easier to loose the grip.

Conscious Continuous Learning

Once the above points are checked, it would be a lot easier to focus the energy on a continuous learning without drowning in the vast amount of possibilities.

This will help you stay true to yourself, and later on be able to spot opportunities knocking at your door.

Seek opportunities to work on different types of projects within your organization. Volunteer for challenging assignments to broaden your experience.

Seek Mentorship

Now is the time to give my gardening example.

I thought that growing tomatoes is easy, I was very proud of my growing bushes, I even showed a picture with those to someone to brag.

Only then I learned that they were cool, but this is not how you shall grow tomatoes if you want to have fruit instead of leafs.

Having a mentor can help you opening your eyes towards directions you did not even think about and will speed up the process of learning for you.

Seek Feedback

Regularly seek feedback from supervisors, peers, and subordinates.

Sometimes, if you are too focused on your way, you may loose sight of important matters related to working in a community, especially around the area of soft skills.

Work-Life Balance

Never forget, career matters, but what matters the most is family and your health.

Prioritize and manage your time effectively. Take breaks and ensure you have time for personal interests as well.

Adaptability

Be open to change and be willing to adapt to new roles, projects, and technologies. Develop a growth mindset and embrace lifelong learning.

Contribute. Be an Enabler

If all the above are lacking in your company, maybe you are the key to raise the awareness and highlight the need. Stop blaming external factors, take ownership and focus on action.

Enable everyone around you to see this, and contribute together towards making it happen.

It is also in our power to bring in the change, we shall not only wait for change to be made by others.