Abdirahman Jama, a Software Development Engineer @ AWS | Opinions are my own, recently posted something that made me stop scrolling:

"Software engineer career roadmap:
→ Join a startup
→ Join big tech
→ Become a founder
→ Become a farmer"

It is funny, sharp, and oddly comforting. In four short lines, Abdirahman Jama captured a career arc many engineers quietly daydream about: intensity, scale, independence, and then a life that feels human again.

I read it less as a literal checklist and more as a compact story about what we go looking for as we mature: learning, leverage, ownership, and peace. Let me expand on what he wrote and add some practical framing for anyone trying to decide what comes next.

Why this roadmap hits home

Software engineering careers can feel like an endless ladder: new frameworks, promotions, performance reviews, and a moving target called "impact." Jama's roadmap cuts through that noise. Each step represents a different kind of payoff:

Startup: accelerated learning and responsibility
Big tech: scale, strong peers, and operational excellence
Founder: autonomy, ownership, and risk
Farmer: sustainability, simplicity, and a redefined definition of success

The final line is the punchline, but it is also the point. A lot of engineers do not want to "win" forever. They want to build a life.

1) Join a startup: learn fast, ship faster

When Jama starts with "Join a startup," I hear: compress your learning curve.

In a startup, you are close to the customer and close to the consequences. You will likely:

Make architectural decisions earlier than you would elsewhere
Touch more of the stack, even if it is messy
Learn product thinking because survival depends on it
Develop a bias toward shipping, not debating

What you gain

A startup teaches you how software becomes a business. You develop instincts around tradeoffs: reliability vs speed, features vs focus, and perfect code vs useful code.

What to watch for

The downside is real: long hours, unclear boundaries, and sometimes chaotic leadership. If you choose this stage, choose your environment carefully. Look for:

A product you understand
Leaders who can explain strategy simply
A team with at least one person you would happily learn from every day

Key insight: startups give you reps. Reps are career compounding.

2) Join big tech: operate at scale and level up your craft

Next: "Join big tech." After startup intensity, big tech can feel like stepping into a well-lit factory where the tools are premium and the processes are documented.

Big tech is where you learn what "good" looks like when millions of users and serious reliability are on the line. You will see:

Mature engineering practices (testing, code review culture, incident response)
Strong design documents and decision records
Deep specialists who raise your standards
Systems where small changes require careful coordination

What you gain

You gain a network, brand credibility, and a clearer understanding of organizational leverage. Many engineers learn to communicate better here because alignment becomes part of the job.

What to watch for

The tradeoff is that you might feel like a small part of a huge machine. It is easy to confuse motion with progress.

If you want this stage to serve you, do not just optimize for the name. Optimize for:

A problem area with real complexity (distributed systems, security, ML platforms)
A team that ships
A manager who will grow you, not just use you

Key insight: big tech teaches you durability - how to build systems and careers that do not break under load.

3) Become a founder: trade certainty for ownership

Then Jama writes: "Become a founder." This is the pivot from career to company.

Founding is not "startup, but with more freedom." It is startup with the responsibility dial turned to maximum. You become accountable for:

The product, not just the code
The customer, not just the roadmap
Hiring, firing, cash flow, and positioning
Your own psychology when things get weird (they will)

What you gain

If it works, you gain disproportionate leverage. Even if it fails, you gain perspective. Many founders come back to engineering with improved judgment because they have felt the market directly.

What to watch for

Founding can romanticize suffering. A better framing is intentional risk. Before you jump:

Decide what "enough" means (money, autonomy, time)
Pick a problem you can stay interested in for years
Find a co-founder you can disagree with respectfully
Build a runway - financial and emotional

Key insight: being a founder forces you to learn the whole game, not just your position.

4) Become a farmer: redefine success and protect your nervous system

Finally: "Become a farmer." This is the line that makes the post viral, but I think it is also the most honest part.

I do not read it as "quit tech." I read it as a metaphor for returning to something tangible: a life where outcomes are physical, cycles are seasonal, and you can see the fruit of your work.

In tech, you can ship something huge and still feel oddly empty. Farming represents the opposite:

Work that is grounded
Progress that is visible
A pace that your body can tolerate
A definition of wealth that includes time

The deeper message

Jama is pointing at a career truth we do not say out loud: after enough ambition, many people want calm. Not boredom, not giving up. Calm.

Maybe you do not become a literal farmer. Your version might be:

A lower intensity role
Consulting with strict boundaries
Teaching or mentoring
Moving closer to family
Building a small business that does not require hypergrowth

Key insight: the endgame is not status. It is sustainability.

You do not have to follow the order

The brilliance of Jama's roadmap is that it is both specific and flexible. You can remix it:

Big tech first if you want training wheels and mentorship
Startup after if you want broader scope and faster ownership
Founder at any point if you have a strong pull and a clear risk plan
"Farmer" whenever you realize your life is yours to design

The real question is not "What step am I on?" It is: what am I optimizing for right now?

A practical way to use this roadmap this week

If Jama's four lines resonate, here is a simple exercise:

1) Pick your current season

Write down one sentence:

"I am in my learning season" (startup energy)
"I am in my mastery season" (big tech craft)
"I am in my ownership season" (founder mode)
"I am in my sustainability season" (farmer energy)

2) Choose one skill that compounds across all seasons

Examples:

Writing clearly (design docs, proposals, founder narratives)
Communication under pressure (incidents, launches, sales calls)
Building relationships (teammates, users, mentors)

3) Add one boundary that protects your future self

The farmer step is a reminder: you do not want to arrive at "success" exhausted. A boundary can be simple:

No meetings before 10am twice a week
A hard stop time most nights
One day per weekend fully offline

Closing thoughts

Abdirahman Jama's post is a joke that doubles as wisdom. "Join a startup" and "Join big tech" speak to competence. "Become a founder" speaks to agency. "Become a farmer" speaks to peace.

If you take anything from it, let it be this: your career is not only a path upward. It is a path toward the life you want to live.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Abdirahman Jama, Software Development Engineer @ AWS | Opinions are my own. View the original LinkedIn post →