No one owes you a promotion.

No one owes you a promotion.

And if you need it to increase your salary, you’re already late.

A promotion only comes when:

— you’ve been doing the work of the higher level for months

— the company has already benefited from you

— the cost of not promoting you is greater than promoting you

And when it comes, it’s usually a joke:

+5–8%

more responsibility

same broken context

Uncomfortable fact:

Changing companies often pays out 3–5 years of “internal promotions” all at once.

That’s why well-paid devs don’t “wait their turn.”

They revalue themselves in the market.

They don’t chase titles.

They chase leverage.

If your plan is:

“to hold on for another year and see if I get a raise”

That’s not a plan.

It’s hope.

And hope doesn’t pay the bills.