what is a PM? you're the prime minister?
Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
11–20 of 229 posts
Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#12I can certainly understand wanting to make this transition. One thing to bear in mind, though, is that corporate programming jobs can end up having a lot of focus on process and highly-structured modes of collaboration that make it a very different experience from coding on your own. As a tech PM, you're probably more aware of this than people coming from some other backgrounds, but still something to watch out for, especially if you're tempted because you enjoy hobby coding.
Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#13what is a PM? you're the prime minister?
Nah, PM stands for Project Manager, the person who coordinates & manages a project to make sure it happens on time and on budget.
Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#14> e.g. block chain, deep learning, etc.
Most bootcamps that I'm aware of are for training web developers, with a few going into mobile app development. That will give you some basic coding skill but is probably not going to get you very far in the direction you want to go.
You'd most likely be better off seeking an online CS degree.
Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#15Keep your job and fund a company on the side hiring people to do the hands-on stuff your dreaming about. The software industry is full of challenges and tech so it's endless and extremely diverse. You could spend the rest of your life on deep learning or whatever discipline. Today your just another drone PM, if you want to make a difference build a company, don't be another drone techy dude.
Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#16By PM do you mean product or project manager? If you're a project manager can you move over to the product side? That way you'll be able to leverage your MBA by learning a new set of skills. These will include SQL and data analysis, whatever field your product serves, and I even knew a couple of product managers who would occasionally sling code, write copy or design mockups when the project deadline was slipping. I feel that coding is going to be a dead end career field in 10-20 years, because everyone will simply do it as part of their job. Better to work on those soft skills, rather than just a pure technical skill.
Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#17Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#18what is a PM? you're the prime minister?
Honestly, this is the first way I read it as well.
Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#19Yes, you are. The best opportunities are in cross-field expertise, so keep working as a PM, but learn coding and other software development disciplines in parallel. Don't underestimate the management contribution to the quality of the code and to the final result: through building the right process, through the deep understanding of development team needs, weaknesses and strengths you may influence the resulting product much more than one of the coders. Everyone can code or learn to code - it is much harder both to possess the coding skills and manage people at the same time.
Re: Ask HN: I will quit my job as a PM to join a coding bootcamp. Am I crazy?
#20No, not crazy, people change careers all the time. My suggestion would be to go over your reasons with someone like a counselor to determine if they are true for you or not. What I mean is, you said some things that are made up meanings. If you're cool with what you made up, then no worries, it's just something to look at, that you may be convincing yourself that "if I do this, then I'll finally feel fulfilled." (Not sure if this is true for you)
Like "I don't feel like I am building tangible skills as a PM, it is more about project management and coordinating." Perhaps you are learning many tangible skills (just not ones you prefer). Also, "I have a feeling tremendous opportunity will be available over the next 10 years to software developers while other disciplines such as management become less and less important." That could be true, but maybe it won't be.
My 2 cents