Software epaulettes

 Can you imagine army generals being forced to start as privates or corporals at the beginning of each war? Or if they change unit? Can you imagine having to start over as first grader everytime you change schools? Its absurd, isn't it? Now do you know what happens when one changes a programming company? Gets degraded 1, 2 or in some cases 3 ranks. It makes you wonder why?

I have tried to rationalize this behavior, I have even heard the actual reasons, but it never made sense to me. It's even put into law, at least everywhere I lived and worked so far. The new employee is on a trial period in the first 6 months, and this is by law. Why? Companies don't trust their own recruiting process? What do they expect to happen in 6 months, that can't happen after 6 months and 1 day?

What is the drawback of this?

Its a lose-lose scenario for the companies. Considering every software company has a shortage of developers. Here is my logic:

• Great profiles hesitate to switch companies, because they will be set back regardless of probation time and salary.
• Companies value loyalty over profile quality. This worked in the past. These days though, company politics like this encourages current employees to turn numb and oblivious about the product quality.  As long as they sit enough time in the current company, it is almost guaranteed to go up the ranks. This results in lower product quality, ergo company reputation goes down, so less and less good profiles come in, so the vicious spiral continues down.

Have you heard about Army Veterans Syndrome? The army soldiers go through the army ranks and their self worth goes up. However once discharged, they have to start over from scratch in society (or civil ranking) to bring their rank up. This is traumatic, as starting school from 1-st grade again. 

So why isn't there a universal software ranking, I mean really objective one, not like the current vague system based on time. Currently a senior developers might be ranked after 2 years of experience in one company! So in the next company he is a junior (different scaling), in another company he might be valued as intern? Does this sound right or useful? 

I know, I know, company domain knowledge is different, but programming is the same anywhere on the globe, testing is more or less the same, software project management is standardized these days... So why not profile ranking?

Why do we have to suffer from PTSD on every company switch? It's everybody's illness, we are only the first to show symptoms. The companies are sustaining long term injuries and scars.