"I'm a Principal Engineer and I'm Miserable" (When the Dream Job Isn't Enough) скачать в хорошем качестве

"I'm a Principal Engineer and I'm Miserable" (When the Dream Job Isn't Enough)

You did everything you were “supposed” to do. You climbed from junior to senior to staff to principal. You have the title, the salary, the prestige, and a calendar full of meetings. And somehow, you feel empty. You are highly paid, deeply experienced, and still sitting at your keyboard wondering, “What should my fingers actually be doing right now?” Stay in Touch: 📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business? Email us at dannyandleonspodcast@gmail.com! Danny Thompson https://x.com/DThompsonDev   / dthompsondev   www.DThompsonDev.com Leon Noel https://x.com/leonnoel   / leonnoel   https://100devs.org/ 📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business? Email us at dannyandleonspodcast@gmail.com! In this episode, Danny and Leon dig into what happens when the dream job stops feeling like a dream. They talk about the loss of that early-career magic, the tension between strategy and hands-on building, and why so many principal and staff engineers quietly feel stuck, bored, or like frauds. You will hear how to think about the value of your time, how to shift from “hero developer” to multiplier, and how to build systems, cultures, and people instead of just features. They also tackle the difference between impostor syndrome and an apathy crisis, how to keep your skills sharp without clinging to every ticket, and how to design a team culture where learning and ownership are normal. In the Ask Danny and Leon segment, they close with a deep dive on job search frustration, referrals that still end in rejection, why your resume and presence are probably working against you, and how to use volume, networking, and better communication to actually see results. Perfect for principal, staff, and senior engineers who feel like they have made it and yet feel miserable, and for earlier career devs who want to avoid ending up in the same place. Chapters 00:00 – The principal engineer who feels lost 02:15 – Remembering the first time code felt like magic 07:25 – The three types of senior engineers 10:30 – What your time really costs at the principal level 16:10 – Trading magic for meetings and how to get it back 19:00 – Scaling yourself through docs, videos, and systems 20:45 – Building a culture of experiments and continuous learning 22:30 – Aligning the team on mission, not just tickets 23:30 – This isn’t impostor syndrome, it’s an apathy crisis 24:30 – Becoming a multiplier instead of the hero developer 29:40 – Turning your engineers into teachers and leaders 32:50 – The five levels of decision autonomy 35:30 – Nobody actually knows everything (and that’s okay) 35:55 – Ask Danny & Leon: “I have zero prospects, when will I see results?” 40:20 – Referrals, rejections, and why volume still wins 44:50 – Your resume doesn’t read like a human story 49:50 – Visibility, effort, and the gas station promotion story 53:40 – Technical skill is not your whole career 56:00 – Coffee chats, calendars, and how activity predicts outcomes 59:00 – Effort over luck and closing thoughts