> I'd hope engineers would know that their incoming title is part of the offer package and thus may be negotiable
Sure, but you don't even get considered for those higher level roles and that's the main problem. You don't show up in searches for "staff engineer" or "principle engineer" so recruiters aren't even aware of you (for Netflix this is less of a problem but for engineers from similar orgs it's an issue).
> Also, I've heard rumors you can have a satisfying career without reaching the vaunted role of principal
It's not the title that's important, it's the scope of the role and the impact. Usually the title comes along with it and is a good indicator of what the scope will be.
> I'm of the opinion that titles are a lousy game to play, because they are inherently zero sum.
I agree but like I said above, it's not the title per se that's important but the scope that it represents. At a startup it's less important because you can make your own scope, but at a large enterprise, your title pretty much determines your scope.
Sure, but you don't even get considered for those higher level roles and that's the main problem. You don't show up in searches for "staff engineer" or "principle engineer" so recruiters aren't even aware of you (for Netflix this is less of a problem but for engineers from similar orgs it's an issue).
> Also, I've heard rumors you can have a satisfying career without reaching the vaunted role of principal
It's not the title that's important, it's the scope of the role and the impact. Usually the title comes along with it and is a good indicator of what the scope will be.
> I'm of the opinion that titles are a lousy game to play, because they are inherently zero sum.
I agree but like I said above, it's not the title per se that's important but the scope that it represents. At a startup it's less important because you can make your own scope, but at a large enterprise, your title pretty much determines your scope.