Dave Martin

Heya! đź‘‹ I’m Dave. I’m a product designer, engineer, PM, and team lead who works on WordPress.com.

What’s in a job title?

Some people find value in their titles. Some people don’t seem to care at all. Why is that?

On the surface, it’s just a label. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll often find a swirling vortex of identity, ego, ambition, and societal perception.

Evolving, inflating, morphing

When I first started my career people hired “Web Designers”. Over the years this has evolved into:

  • Senior Web Designer
  • Product Designer
  • Senior Product Designer
  • Principal Designer
  • Staff Designer

Now I’m seeing ads for “Senior Staff Designer”. What does that even mean? Are there Staff Designers that aren’t Senior?

What drives this inflation?

I wonder what drives this evolution and seeming inflation of titles over time.

Is it just natural? Are we just wired with a desire for progression?

Is it all about status?

Is it aging designers still seeking validation for their career progression?

Is it just companies carefully crafting ever appealing titles in an attempt to attract the best talent?

Is it something else?

Value or vanity?

One thing I don’t see is a whole lot of correlation between job titles and compensation. I suspect this is true across the design industry, across various companies, and perhaps even within some companies.

Another thing I don’t see a lot of correlation between job titles and actual skills/experience.

Helping or hurting?

Ultimately, do job titles help? Do they add value? Or are they somehow a relic of the past?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo by Jeet Dhanoa on Unsplash

2 responses to “What’s in a job title?”

  1. Matt West Avatar
    Matt West

    I’ve reached the point in my career where I don’t care for job titles. Call me what you want, I like to create things that make people happier.

    I’ve done the whole “climb the ladder” thing, trying to check all the boxes that will get me into the next level on a progression framework in pursuit of more status and money. Typically it’s been a huge distraction from the actual work, and 100% ego driven.

    Maybe an important sounding job title is useful when searching for a job. It might get me through a recruiter’s initial filter. But after that it’s 100% on me to demonstrate my worth.

    A lack of structured levelling forces organisations to treat people as individuals. To consider their personal achievements and impact when reviewing compensation. That’s hard to do though because it’s subjective, and maybe even flawed due to our inherent biases. It’s a lot easier to have a big checklist that sorts people into their respective box. The problem is every company has a different checklist, so externally, you can never really assess someone on their title alone.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dave Martin Avatar
      Dave Martin

      Really well said! I found myself nodding my head as I read your comment.

      Like

      Reply

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