sean goedecke

The popular belief that writing overcomplicated code leads to job security or promotion is largely a myth. Engineers who write simple, clean code tend to ship faster, accumulate more successful projects, and build reputations as reliable deliverers — all of which managers notice and reward. Non-technical managers may initially be impressed by visible complexity, but over time they track results, not perceived difficulty. Deliberately overcomplicating work backfires through slower delivery, more bugs, and complaints from teammates who inherit the mess. The real career advice: it's fine to frame your work as slightly complex, but actually doing unnecessary complexity is counterproductive.

Engineers do get promoted for writing simple code

Thank you, that actually makes sense.
I think in the end the people who get promoted are also the ones who communicate most closely with leadership, show a lot excitement and still deliver great work.
Being promoted is way more about people than about work. Sadly.

that’s what I call, “The Lux”.

Great advice. Now the paradigm is shifting from complex code to AI generated code. If not taken enough care it will fall in same bucket. People (team) not aware about the reason or code will make it complicated, slower delivery and more bugs.

Having a solid grasp of the language, the code base and the design of the system will allow you to write “simple” code. Despite online narratives, people who progress career wise know enough to to make it “simple” and can articulate their processes so that non technical members of the team understands.