Get the latest tech news

How to know when it's time to go

Leaving a job is never easy, and it’s a consequential decision. But when it’s time, it’s time. Here’s how to escape the comfort trap, and take the next step in your career.

My book Code For Your Life is a guide to the alternatives: building a meaningful career, becoming a master of your craft, and maybe even starting a successful independent business. Although some people function competently, I observed others who had risen above their level of competence and were habitually bungling their jobs, frustrating their co-workers and eroding the efficiency of the organization.My analysis of hundreds of cases of occupational incompetence led me on to formulate The Peter Principle: In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. They are the ones least likely to put up with the frequent stupidities and workplace problems that plague large organisations; they are also the ones most likely to have other opportunities that they can readily move to.What tends to remain behind is the ‘residue’—the least talented and effective engineers.

Get the Android app