GuyThiebaut wrote:

if as a dev I take the time to explain the complexity and issues involved then most project managers are quite grateful, understanding and do their best to support me as a dev.

This has been hit and miss for me in the past. Some PMs really do care about this, others don't. If you don't make them look good, they couldn't care less about your problems. Often times promises are made there are discussions with management / clients that happen without consulting the delivery team, and then they don't want to listen to anything that makes them look bad. In my experience, some are little more than task admins. They come with a list of tasks asking "Is task x done yet?" and move on. But I have had those that really care about enabling the delivery team, and those are to be treasured.

Touché ;P However, that changes the story from career development to office politics, and there's few things other than leaving the company which would remedy that (for the developer asked to dumb down the code).

How are juniors expected to learn when nothing will challenge them?