Pros
You’ll learn to context-switch between 16 projects (because you have to). You’ll learn what not to do as a manager/leader (there are plenty of negative examples that can sharpen your own leadership instincts later).
Cons
No pushback to clients: In my experience, no one—tech leads, PMs, project managers, sales, or management—pushes back on scope or timelines. Everything flows straight to developers, leading to hourly context switching and constant fire-fighting. Lack of planning & retros: There’s little to no planning discipline and no meaningful retros. When one project catches fire, management pulls everyone onto it, which instantly dooms other projects to delays—then repeats the cycle when those slip. Perverse workload incentives: The more you deliver, the more you’re piled with. If you can juggle three projects, you’ll be handed five; handle five, you’ll end up with ten or more. High performers get punished with overload while low output often goes unaddressed. Blame over learning: When delays happen, instead of team reflection, developers are blamed for “missing details.” I raised estimation risks more than once and was told the original estimates were “accurate”—until reality proved otherwise.
