@PackBropagated: Real corporate crap, Story 1: My friend at a MAANG company didn't get promoted from SWE2 to Senior for 2.5 years after …

Real corporate crap, Story 1: My friend at a MAANG company didn't get promoted from SWE2 to Senior for 2.5 years after his first promo application (despite already spending 3+ years at SWE2). He checked 95% of the boxes and was highly deserving. - Why was he blocked? His team had two Senior SWEs with 15+ YOE; my friend had 8. To pass the promo committee, he needed their buy-in via "peer feedback." Here’s where the politics kicked in: they were simply too insecure to accept someone younger having an equal say and making the same money. - How did they block him "professionally"? Weaponized subjectivity. His design docs got nitpicked to death: "this line should be red," "this should be green," "too verbose," "too concise." The feedback was completely subjective and constantly contradicting. He eventually had to leave to get his Senior title at another Big Tech company. It's insane how much personal bias and politics dictate your career growth in Big Tech.