Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#1

Post by prgmatic » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:03 PM UTC

I'm in my mid-30s and I work as a Senior Product Manager at a software company (not a big one). I'm not really happy and I'm wondering if I should go back to coding. Albeit, I haven't been in a coding role in almost a decade.

My entry point into tech was web development (teens/college) but found myself intrigued by design and UX challenges, so I went from a front-end developer in college into product/UX design and did that for some years.

What I know now that I didn't know then: - Every role / skill set has its challenges, especially when you get into the more advanced tiers. In my early 20s I thought that "coding wasn't for me" because I was hitting seemingly insurmountable walls. Now I know those are simply the challenges that help you level up. - You can be good at anything and get whatever job you want if you set your mind to it. Surely some of us are more right-brained or left-brained, but I feel like there is an argument to why coding is creative and how PM/design is technical.

I guess I just miss coding. I miss not dealing with people problems. I miss the incremental feeling of achievement with shipping code. I don't like that my work performance is dependent on politics, ambiguity, and people stuff instead of things working or not working.

Product management doesn't have that same joy for me and I'm not sure if this is right for me.

How do I get back into a coding job? Will my trajectory / resume be a hindrance?

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#2

Post by amalgamated_inc » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:13 PM UTC

> Will my trajectory / resume be a hindrance?

On the margin, but not in totality. Will you get a Super Duper Senior Coder job right away like somebody who's been coding that entire time? Of course not. Will you get SOME coding job? Sure.

Just pick up some web dev stack that's popular (e.g. JavaScript/TypeScript/React), get somewhat comfortable with it (a handful of weekend projects) and then start applying places.

I will say you picked a really bad time, tons of companies are laying people off and freezing hiring.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#3

Post by prgmatic » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:18 PM UTC

amalgamated_inc wrote: post #2

> Will my trajectory / resume be a hindrance? On the margin, but not in totality. Will you get a Super Duper Senior Coder job right away like somebody who's been coding that entire time? Of course not. Will you get SOME coding job? Sure. Just pick up some web dev stack that's popular (e.g. JavaScript/TypeScript/React), get somewhat comfortable with it (a handful of weekend projects) and then start applying places. I…

I'm not in a hurry to move, I would like to plan and prepare for the transition once I've sat with this feeling and understand that it's real and it doesn't just pass over me.

Perhaps I could use the next 6 months to study and create some weekend projects.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#4

Post by dieselgate » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:20 PM UTC

There's nothing stopping you from getting back into coding in general, that'd probably be the first step. Rivers Cuomo (of Weezer fame) can still be spotted around github issues and stuff - just as an example of someone who still codes even though it isn't their main job. Maybe you can stay at your current Org and pivot to some more code related tasks - start small and gain familiarity and work up from there. You'd have good support from others you already know and a good "thing" to put on a resume. No experience is bad experience for someone in your position.

Best of luck to you

Edit: was thinking on this and maybe just getting a dev env. for your work's codebase could be a good first step. even if it's just commented out code making a merge request and making a production deploy could be valuable too - however that may look

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#5

Post by amalgamated_inc » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:32 PM UTC

prgmatic wrote: post #3

amalgamated_inc wrote: post #2

> Will my trajectory / resume be a hindrance? On the margin, but not in totality. Will you get a Super Duper Senior Coder job right away like somebody who's been coding that entire time? Of course not. Will you get SOME coding job? Sure. Just pick up some web dev stack that's popular (e.g. JavaScript/TypeScript/React), get somewhat comfortable with it (a handful of weekend projects) and then start applying places. I…

I'm not in a hurry to move, I would like to plan and prepare for the transition once I've sat with this feeling and understand that it's real and it doesn't just pass over me. Perhaps I could use the next 6 months to study and create some weekend projects.

Sounds great. To be clear, I don't think weekend projects are a huge help in getting a job in the sense of having a portfolio, more to give yourself the confidence and polish your skillset a bit.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#6

Post by thenerdhead » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:40 PM UTC

Another way to look at it is to take your current job and make it "yours".

If you hate politics, don't play them.

If you hate ambiguity, create clarity.

If you hate people stuff, leave it to people managers.

You can be a successful PM and focus more on the creative sides, but only you will be able to do that. Most people just do the job as their managers think it should be done, and that's super fixed minded. Create your own definition of what a PM could be capable of doing that matches your intuition.

Otherwise just look to pivot to a IC coding role as PMs do this all the time and vice-versa.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#7

Post by tacostakohashi » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 8:57 PM UTC

> I miss not dealing with people problems.

As a coder, you don't get to ignore people problems. Unless you're very junior, and can get away with expecting your manager to filter that stuff out for you. Beyond that, if you want to get anywhere... you need to build relationships with your coworkers, users, testers, prod support people, manager, etc.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#8

Post by beardyw » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 9:07 PM UTC

I had this twice in my career, and in both cases I got back into coding as a freelance. Somehow it worked out well, possibly because of how your knowledge / experience is measured. I won't claim it was easy though.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#9

Post by GianFabien » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 9:22 PM UTC

thenerdhead wrote: post #6

Another way to look at it is to take your current job and make it "yours". If you hate politics, don't play them. If you hate ambiguity, create clarity. If you hate people stuff, leave it to people managers. You can be a successful PM and focus more on the creative sides, but only you will be able to do that. Most people just do the job as their managers think it should be done, and that's super fixed minded. Create…

Good advice. In my experience within some companies you don't have the autonomy to make those sorts of changes. The higher ups have a firm grip on how they want things to run and how individuals have to comply with their vision. In such situations I have found it easier to switch to another company.

Re: Ask HN: I'm a PM, and I want to go back to coding

#10

Post by nextos » Wed, Jan 04, 2023, 9:23 PM UTC

prgmatic wrote: post #3

amalgamated_inc wrote: post #2

> Will my trajectory / resume be a hindrance? On the margin, but not in totality. Will you get a Super Duper Senior Coder job right away like somebody who's been coding that entire time? Of course not. Will you get SOME coding job? Sure. Just pick up some web dev stack that's popular (e.g. JavaScript/TypeScript/React), get somewhat comfortable with it (a handful of weekend projects) and then start applying places. I…

I'm not in a hurry to move, I would like to plan and prepare for the transition once I've sat with this feeling and understand that it's real and it doesn't just pass over me. Perhaps I could use the next 6 months to study and create some weekend projects.

IMHO if you can position yourself in a relatively niche domain, you may actually get more value than by creating weekend projects.

In your shoes, I would actually try to get hired now. Probably lots of companies, see e.g. Who is hiring / Who wants to be hired threads, would extend you an offer straight away.