Other Parts of This Series:
Software Engineer’s Career Path (Photo Credit: Shutterstock)
In this series, we try to explore software engineering in a modern way. We will try to learn the different software engineering aspects one by one. In this part, we try to explore the traditional career path of software engineer’s.
So let’s get started…
Story
Shuvo and Tapu discussed and drafted an outline to become proficient software engineers. Now they are really curious about how to plan and execute for career advancement. Because they know to achieve something big and success in a career, everybody needs to understand and follow a proper path with proper guidelines.
To navigate and drive your career journey, you need to understand the pulse of the industry first. Let’s first understand the following:
Types of Companies
Different companies offer different cultures, expectations, and growth opportunities. Understanding this landscape helps you make better career choices.
Big Tech
Think MAANG-level companies or regional giants. Examples: Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft.
- High engineering standards
- Specialized roles
- Strong promotion systems
- Excellent compensation
Medium to Large Tech Companies
Well-established engineering orgs without Big Tech bureaucracy. Examples: Shopify, Atlassian, Stripe, Dropbox.
- Good balance between stability and innovation
- Opportunities for ownership and leadership
Scaleups
Fast-growing companies transitioning from startup to maturity. Examples: Notion, Figma, Datadog, Airtable.
- High-impact work
- Processes are forming but not rigid
- Great growth potential if you thrive in change
Startups (Early Stage)
Small teams building fast with limited resources. Examples: Early-stage YC startups, Seed to Series A teams.
- Everyone wears multiple hats
- Very high learning speed
- Riskier career stability, but high upside
Traditional Non-Tech With Tech Divisions
Banks (JPMorgan), telcos, retailers, logistics companies, etc.
- Tech supports non-tech business
- Slower pace, more hierarchy
- Good stability, decent compensation
Traditional But Tech-Heavy
Companies evolving into tech-first businesses (fintech, e-commerce, logistics-tech). Examples: Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, Capital One, bKash.
- Improving engineering culture
- Tech is critical to business, strong engineering hiring.
- Real product ownership opportunities
Small Non-Venture-Funded Companies
Self-funded, smaller teams. Examples: Local software shops, IT service agencies.
- Strong ownership
- Lower budgets
- Good for generalist skill development
Public Sector
Government institutions. Examples: Government digital services, NASA IT, UK GDS.
- High job security
- Predictable work
- Usually lower pay
Non-profits
Mission-driven organizations. Examples: Mozilla Foundation, Khan Academy.
- Meaningful impact
- Lower compensation
- More flexibility and work-life balance
Consultancies & Outsourcing Firms
Client-facing project work.
- Variety of technologies
- Great for learning communication and delivery
- Less engineering autonomy, sometimes long hours
Academia & Research Labs
Deep research and experimentation. Examples: MIT CSAIL, CERN computing team.
- Innovation and technical depth
- Lower pay compared to industry
- Ideal for those who love investigating new tech
Typical Software Engineering Career Paths
Here’s the common progression across tech companies:
Software Engineer (Entry to Mid-Level)
- Learns fundamentals
- Delivers tasks with guidance
- Focuses on writing code and fixing bugs
Senior Software Engineer
- Delivers complex projects independently
- Mentors juniors
- Improves system quality
- Strong blend of technical depth and ownership
Lead Engineer / Tech Lead
- Technical owner of a team or project
- Makes architectural decisions
- Ensures delivery quality and timelines
- Supports and guides teammates
Staff / Principal Engineer (Staff+)
- Cross-team influence
- Owns major systems or platform direction
- Solves organization-level technical problems
- Shapes engineering culture and standards
Engineering Manager
- People management
- Hiring, performance reviews, coaching
- Ensures project execution
- Removes blockers for the team
Director of Engineering
- Manages multiple managers or teams
- Sets engineering goals and strategy
- Aligns engineering with business outcomes
VP of Engineering
- Responsible for engineering org execution
- Policy, budgeting, and org structure
- Connects engineering and executive leadership
CTO
- Owns company-wide technical vision
- Long-term architecture and innovation
- Balances tech strategy with business needs
CEO
- Sets company vision
- Owns financial and business outcomes
- Builds culture and long-term direction
Compensation Tiers in Tech
Compensation varies massively between companies and regions.
- Tier 1 (Local Market): Typical pay for standard companies in a region. Mostly traditional businesses, internal engineering teams, smaller tech companies.
- Tier 2 (Top of Local Market): Better-than-average compensation. Strong engineering organizations, scaleups, successful startups. Example: Fintechs like bKash, Pathao, regional tech leaders.
- Tier 3 (Regional/Global Top): Premium global-level compensation. Big Tech, remote international companies, high-demand product companies. Example: Google Singapore, Stripe US, AWS Berlin.
- Contractors and Freelancers: Flexible and variable earnings. Higher potential with specialization and niche expertise. Example: Toptal, Upwork engineers charging hourly/retainer fees.
Cost Centers vs. Profit Centers
Where you sit inside a company affects growth opportunities.
Cost Center
You support internal systems. Examples: Internal IT, shared infra teams in banks.
- Promos may be slower
- Less visibility
- Stable workload
Profit Center
You build revenue-generating products. Examples: Ads team at Meta, payments at Amazon.
- More investment
- Higher compensation potential
- Faster career growth and recognition
We should get an understanding about what type of company in general exists, what the roles are with their desired expectations, and some compensation info from our above discussion. Now let’s discuss how we can prepare for promotions and perform accordingly.
How Promotions Are Decided
Promotions depend on sustained performance, not one-time achievements.
Companies typically evaluate:
- Impact: Measurable value to business or team
- Scope: Breadth and complexity of problems you solve
- Ownership: Initiating, leading, and completing work
- Technical Strength: Quality, architecture, debugging, systems thinking
- Collaboration: Communication, teamwork, conflict resolution
- Leadership Traits: Influence, decisions, mentorship
- Consistency: Long-term reliability
Types of Promotion Processes
Different companies follow different levels or types of promotion processes. Based on the arrangement, it can be informal to heavily data-driven.
Informal
- Manager-driven
- Quick decisions
- Common in startups and very small companies
Lightweight
- Minimal documentation
- Peer and manager input
- Used in mid-sized companies with some structure
Heavyweight
- Promotion packets
- Multiple reviewers
- Calibration rounds
- Typical in Big Tech and mature orgs
Hybrid
- A mix of formal structure and manager discretion
- Common in scaleups
Responsibility Should Follow On Different Roles
Not same role expect same levels of responsibility. Different roles expect responsibility.
The Competent Software Engineer
A solid engineer who:
- Writes clean, maintainable code
- Understands core concepts
- Communicates clearly
- Takes feedback and grows quickly
- Delivers small and medium tasks reliably
- Learn debugging
The Well-Rounded Senior Engineer
A high-performing senior engineer demonstrates:
- Strong ownership and accountability
- Ability to design solutions end-to-end
- Skill in identifying risks and trade-offs
- Mentorship toward junior engineers
- Clear communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Business awareness and pragmatic decision-making
- Master coding, debugging, and refactoring
The Good Lead Engineer
A good lead engineer:
- Guides technical direction for the team
- Coordinates execution and planning
- Maintains quality and timelines
- Supports teammates and elevates team performance
- Knows when to push speed and when to enforce quality
- Balances trade-offs effectively and fairly
The Organized Staff/Principal Engineer
The Staff+ level is about organizational impact, not just technical skill.
Staff/Principal engineers:
- Influence architecture across multiple teams
- Define and uphold engineering standards and best practices
- Solve ambiguous, cross-team technical problems
- Unblock entire orgs, not just projects
- Serve as trusted technical advisors to leadership
- Shape long-term engineering and platform vision
Responsibilities of Managerial Roles
Engineering Manager
- People care
- Delivery execution
- Team performance and morale
- Hiring and onboarding
- Removing blockers
Director
- Strategy for multiple teams
- Technical alignment and planning
- Budget ownership
- Influencing company-wide engineering decisions
VP of Engineering
- Oversees entire engineering operations
- Sets engineering culture and career architecture
- Works directly with executive leadership and product
CTO
- Long-term technology roadmap
- Innovation and architecture
- High-level technical decision-making
- Ensures engineering supports company vision
CEO
- Vision, culture, and company strategy
- Financial and business outcomes
- Works with investors, customers, and top leadership
Common Characteristics for Promotion & Career Success
Across companies, seniority levels, and roles, the following traits consistently lead to success:
- Reliability: Do what you promise.
- Ownership: Take initiative; solve problems without waiting.
- Communication: Clear, concise, proactive.
- Collaboration: Work well with others; resolve conflict calmly.
- Impact Focus: Make decisions that help the business and users.
- Continuous Learning: Improve skills and stay curious.
- Mentorship: Help others grow.
- Professionalism: Integrity, responsibility, and positive attitude.
- Feedback: Give and seek feedbacks regularly.
Conclusion
A career in software engineering is full of opportunities. Whether you aim to become a Staff Engineer, Engineering Manager, Director, or CTO, understanding the industry landscape and developing the right skills will help you grow with confidence.
Success in tech is not only about writing code – it’s about impact, ownership, communication, teamwork, leadership, and long-term thinking.
Master both technical and soft skills, and your career can scale just as fast as the technology around you.
Further Reading
- The Software Engineer’s Guidebook by Gergely Orosz