- In an analytics role, the junior is assigned the data cleaning work. It's boring, it requires a lot of dirty, ungeneralizable work. And they don't get to do the modeling work and delivering insights that appear more impressive.
- A junior SWE is assigned to maintain some in-house software. They squash bugs, but don't get to design new products or present on new launches.
"Everyone agrees" that data cleaning / maintenance is important, but there's hardly visible credit for this kind of work. What's the best way to gain leverage here?
How sure are you that it really is ungeneralizable? Just because it appears that way at first glance doesn't mean you won't find opportunities for automation once you understand the domain and the typical dirt in the data better than anyone else (note: 'dirt' can often be modelled).
And well, once you're the developer and maintainer of the data-cleaning system that has become the company's competitive advantage...
Similarly, bug-squashing is often an opportunity to really understand some important but unglamorous system (eg. payments, or authentication), as managers will notice that bugs in system X are fixed much faster and more thoroughly when assigned to jr. developer Y, and this often leads to becoming the go-to person for implementing new features in that system.
Tackle boring or unsexy tasks with the same creativity you would bring to other tasks. Share your approach with team members. They may have similar problems and may appreciate your solutions.
If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
You can expand your territory. Like you can go from being the only guy who knows how to modify the installer, to being the person in charge of builds, CI, backups. Then heading a small department on this.
Try to sneak into an irreplaceable position, where you can ask for whatever salary you want. Tech is full of these opportunities. As a junior, you are often given unsexy, boring stuff that nobody wants to handle. That's a good place to get lots of leverage.
Be friends with everyone, especially other departments further away. Social ties are a mesh, and the more mutual friends you have with, say, a boss, the higher everyone's opinion of you. If three of someone's friends like you, chances are they'll think well of you too.
Learn to listen well. Listening is something that needs to be learned. This is the easiest way to make friends. It also unlocks most leverage. You'll learn surprising things. Like a subordinate might care more about being in the same department as a cute intern rather than being promoted and getting more pay.
My core rule when dealing with politics is just to know yourself and know your counterparts. Everything else is easy once you do.