I’ve observed two general patterns: 1. Career ladders nudge designers into management roles as the most realistic way to level up, have more impact, and make more money. Many companies tout a “two track system” that in reality rewards managers with de facto influence on product development and outsized compensation. 2. Most designers transition into management or leadership roles right around the Staff or Principal level. It’s a natural inflection point for many people, but it means that it is increasingly rare to see individual contributors with 10+ years of experience. With these observations in mind, I wanted talk about what life is like for people who stay on the IC (individual contributor) path for the long term. I wanted to know how people level up, what it means to “practice design” at the highest levels, how to track career growth, and what new skills are required. I started this project to answer questions I wish I had the answers to five years ago. Something like this would have saved me a lot of time and stress.

@ghoshal The Wilson M. interview is great. I personally like this piece, "To say, 'Look, I’ve found my corner of the world, and I just want to get better at it and have an environment and a context that sees the value in that. One that wants me to be better, and that can make something out of me being better, and that can help me be better.' Rather than saying 'Well, you know, aren’t you really good enough? And we just need scale, so can you take the plateau that you’re at and productize that for us so that we can have like a hundred diluted versions of you?' From the perspective of Activity Theory, this is the conflict between "use value" and "exchange value", and the conflict should leads to a new form of activity. The designer may starts some projects to utilizes his own "use value". Or the company may starts some new works (exchange value) to match the designer's talent (use value).

Brian Lovin

Campsite

Maker

4yr ago

Ryan Hoover

Product Hunt

I dig the design, especially the blurred out profiles of upcoming guests. It reminds me of how Mega Man would tease upcoming character/ability unlocks with a shadowy figure. :)

@rrhoover thanks Ryan! Yeah, I love the effect too 😊

Bobby Ghoshal

Carrot

Congrats on this project, just read the Wilson M. interview and thought it was fantastically insightful and organic. Looking forward to the rest of 'em!

@ghoshal thank you so much!

Oliver Ding

Staff Design

Navigating the individual contributor career path

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