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Fixing product design career paths with the Mirror Model
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Product Design career paths are broken. Fundamentally and inextricably. Not out of malice, but out of no constant and clear drum beat; nobody noisily shouting with vigor that “our career paths are broken!” It’s time somebody said it, so why not us?
If you’re here, you’re most likely a designer, a manager, or an enthusiast. And you’re probably wondering how these career paths are actually broken: In what way, and from whose point of view? Furthermore, wouldn’t it be safe to assume that by now, even if they were broken, some company somewhere would have resolved the issue by developing a clear, consistent, and fair model that rewarded both Creators and Managers?
Seemingly, no.
Product Designers’ job pathways disproportionately emphasize an upward trajectory that leads to management. This leads to an industry that stifles the careers of highly-creative people who don’t want to manage, putting their personal and professional growth on hold because no appropriate role exists for them to grow into. These people get maxed out at the Principal Product Designer level (even at Meta) and feel handcuffed to their current role or feel forced to jump ship to earn more money and recognition.
This begs the question: what would a fair leveling model for Product Designers look like, in…