Work on high visibility tasks and projects before the difficult ones

Tech companies work like this. Everyone who’s worked at one for long enough knows that it’s very hard to predict what work will be high-impact. The project you slaved over for months will often get a ‘nice, now what’s next’ reaction, while the tool you built in fifteen minutes (or the question you answered in a Slack channel) will sometimes get wild praise and recognition. This can drive engineers a little mad.

This is “cynical,” but a valid tactic that usually works. This mindset will also keep you sane. Related: I have a whole, ten part course in surviving and thriving in a BigCo.

🔗 Don’t anthropomorphize big tech companies