Answered from How to Progress Faster Than Everyone Else (as an engineer) · A Life Engineered · 2026-10-23
Steve Huynh says senior engineers aiming for principal often stop doing their senior-scoped work and spend their time on non-coding, principal-style work. Because their performance review still measures the senior role, they get low to average ratings and are not considered for principal. His advice is to find the minimum threshold at your current level, reject optional work, and use the freed space for next-level work.
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on A Life Engineered (2026-10-23). Read the whole episode summary →