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Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

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Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#1
Lately, I have been feeling that the future for financial growth as a Software Engineer is not the greatest unless I start a company or a business.

I hear of people earning crazy salaries at big companies, but I feel they are outliers.

Non-technical roles, on the other hand, seem to be more promising. I know nothing about these roles, but from what I have gathered, it involves anything from Management to Product Development etc.

I love writing code and I love solving problems, and I wonder if this is just a 'grass is greener' feeling, but I would love to hear from the people who have made the transition.

Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#2
In going from dev to manager, I'd say:

Knowing salaries - good

Respect/status/more say in the org - good

Chance to mentor and help your staff - good

Having to field complaints about your staff - not so good

Firing people - not so good

The different skillsets you use - varies I think, some technical people don't like the managerial tasks

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#3
post #2

In going from dev to manager, I'd say: Knowing salaries - good Respect/status/more say in the org - good Chance to mentor and help your staff - good Having to field complaints about your staff - not so good Firing people - not so good The different skillsets you use - varies I think, some technical people don't like the managerial tasks

I'd agree with this assessment. I went from being a developer to being a manager for several years, then went back to being a developer because it was burning me out (and what I really enjoyed was being a developer).

Other things I'd add:

Sitting in lots of meetings - not so good.

Having to shield your staff from bureaucratic bullshit so they can get their work done - not so good.

Being responsible for the work output of an entire team of people, not just yourself - stressful.

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#4
The biggest thing that I'd say about shifting from a developer to a manager is that you better like dealing with people, if you don't you will be burned out very quickly and you'll be a sub-par manager.

You're going to be responsible for helping your subordinates get their stuff done and progress their careers and you better be the kind of person who can put others first or you're going to begin losing people, which only makes your life more difficult.

Firing people really does suck, but laying people off is gut wrenching. If it's a surprise to them that they're getting fired for not cutting it, that's a sign you weren't being proactive enough with the feedback (or that they're completely clueless which does happen). For me, when someone isn't cutting it and they're teetering on the edge I have a very blunt conversation letting them know they're on their last chance and exactly what the problems are. Usually by that point it's the 3rd or 4th time we're having the same problem and they're all but out the door, but I've had people miraculously turn it around. If you have any empathy this will be the worst part of your job.

Resourcing if that's something your company does will take up the majority of your time if the company is busy- everyone fights for the 'rockstars' and you'll need to figure out how to match your people with projects that suit their strengths AND interests.

You've got to be putting in the 1:1 time to know where your people are interested in growing their skills out and identifying what their strengths are. You've got to be able to figure out how to put people on projects that might stretch their comfort zone and also be able to support them so that they don't fail and keep an interest.

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#5
If you love writing code, you're unlikely to love being a manager. It means you won't be writing code. Simple as that.

That said, if you also love getting amazing things done and being the guy who clears the path for your guys to shine, it's awesome.

Your subordinates will LOVE having a manager who actually gets what you do. But can you explain their perspective and advocate for them to non-technical managers? You need to do that.

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#6
I've known developers who went to management. Some of them went because they liked the idea, some went because they were asked to step up to fill a vacated role. Some have stayed in management, but a lot end up going back to dev eventually. I think it all depends on your attitude and personality.

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#7
post #2

In going from dev to manager, I'd say: Knowing salaries - good Respect/status/more say in the org - good Chance to mentor and help your staff - good Having to field complaints about your staff - not so good Firing people - not so good The different skillsets you use - varies I think, some technical people don't like the managerial tasks

I'd agree with this assessment. I went from being a developer to being a manager for several years, then went back to being a developer because it was burning me out (and what I really enjoyed was being a developer). Other things I'd add: Sitting in lots of meetings - not so good. Having to shield your staff from bureaucratic bullshit so they can get their work done - not so good. Being responsible for the work outpu…

If you don't mind me asking, did you go back to being a developer by changing your workplace, or were you able to transition back within the same organization?

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#8
Have you consider being higher up the technical career path, technical team lead (You will be in demand if you excel at this) or Principal software enigneer comes to mind immediately. They will be other paths.

Career paths of these sort are usually only present in large multi-billion corp, not so much in startups.

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#9
Just a point to keep in mind.

If you're an engineer your need to stay up to date with the technical evolution: coding standards, frameworks, languages & trends.

If you switch into a management role, you need to be strictly organized (accuracy, punctuality, reliability), a good salesman for binding and motivating the project stakeholders AND all the engineering skills mentioned above.

I've switched into management 8 years ago and (even if it does not sound really nice) i need to know everything better than my envolved colleagues to decide if they're on track.

Re: Ask HN: Did you shift from technical to management/executive roles?

#10
I went into management/executive roles AND kept up my development skills. Now, I'm back to being 100% a dev.

I really doubt I would have earned what I did as a manager if I didn't love doing the job (and therefore spent a lot of time trying to get better at it).

The way I got started was in helping my manager with some of his tasks (because I was really interested in learning about it). When he left, he recommended me to fill his position.

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