Thread regarding Fidelity Investments layoffs

Yup that is correct, we are not directly tied to deliverables. That is what the squad lead is for. My compensation has indirect ties to the performance of the team but has no direct ties. I have been on teams that have absolutely su-ked and tried all I could to have them perform but I still got paid max bonus payout, the squad lead on the other hand probably had a different conversation. It’s why squad leads get paid more to take on that nature of the role and play that game.

'You're not directly tied to deliverables' ?! Perhaps this is the mentality that makes this role at l risk! The performance of the team - their ability to deliver and be accountable for the work and each other is what you're trying to influence - along with other agile principals. I do agree that unless the organization - especially the business unit you're supporting in onboard with agile - it's very frustrating and difficult to be successful. In hindsight - I'd agree software engineering is a more stable, secure job

I’m a current sm. Pros: it’s a pretty chill job, you’re not directly tied to deliverables, you don’t have direct reports, you’re not always the point person to answer to why something went wrong, you get paid well since most of us are grade 6. Cons: it’s the most looked down upon job in the tech space and I see a lot of my peers making excuses for ourselves of why we “need a seat at the table”. It’s a thankless job since a lot of our work is not visible (no all we do isn’t just facilitating meetings). Fidelity is absolutely not agile, never was and is moving further and further away; throw away any and all material you learned from your sm cert because this organization refuses to adopt the framework even if they say they want to. It’s a pit hole of a job in that once you’re in it, internal career moves are a bit limited since it’s kind of looked down upon throughout the org. And lastly it’s the job most at risk for layoffs in the tech space. A ton of us were cut last year and I don’t feel safe still.

My advice: don’t be an sm at fidelity and stick with being a dev.

Fidelity laid off a bunch of SMs last year.
I’m sure you could find a career at fidelity, but honestly the whole company is a game of favorites. If you find someone that actually likes you you’ll have a chance. Otherwise you might find yourself laid off. There’s someone within Fidelity that thinks SMs are pointless.