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I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

stackoverflow.blog

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Re: I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

#61

Post by seankimdesign »

I love this story. I can intensely relate as I too have made the pivot from being a UX professional to software engineering a few years back. Sure I hadn't achieved anything close to being the director of design for a known tech firm; My design career was just starting to flourish when I'd made the move. But so much of the sentiment regarding confidence and self-doubt were the exact emotions that I had experienced . It felt as if there was this huge gap in knowledge that I'd never be able to fill. It took a lot of effort from me to overcome that fear of inadequacy and make the jump, so I know it must've not been easy for the author either. It's also funny how the activities she chose to express her desire to code - tinkering with Arduino, participating in Ludum Dare - were the exact stuff I was doing too!

Huge congrats to Kristina, and I hope her engineering career brings her as much joy and fulfillment as it has brought me.

Re: I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

#63

Post by jmd509 »

As a non-technical professional (yes we also peruse HN), I can't stress enough the value of having career conversations early and often with your manager. It's not just HR mumbo-jumbo. OP's story is just one example of a potential benefit.

Most organizations actively try to support internal mobility (admittedly with varied success). Companies invest resources in hiring, training, and keeping you. Your manager, as a representative of the company, is wise to amicably transfer an unsatisfied employee to another part of the organization. And as a human being, they probably want to see you engaged and happy at work, even if it means losing you to another team. Plus in this example, OP was a high performer and had already shown initiative, putting in legwork to upskill themselves for the new role. Demonstrated value/performance and initiative are always helpful when asking for something of your employer.

Don't be dissuaded by cynical examples to the contrary - those who told their manager about other interests and suddenly and inexplicably got fired. Remember there are two sides to every story - for example, maybe they were underperforming and disengaged for a long time, and then randomly raised the question after their manager reached a breaking point? They won't share that in their post. Also remember availability bias - just because we see these people complaining on forums or "know a guy" doesn't mean it happens frequently enough in real life to be seriously concerned.

In the end you'd be surprised what you accomplish by simply talking to your manager early and often, having general conversations about potential aspirations and leaving the door open for them to say "How can I help?"

Re: I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

#64

Post by xutopia »

I find too many workplaces see the only way for a developer to move ahead in their career is to become a manager. I'm glad I don't work at such a place.

At my workplace those who really thrive on technical stuff can follow a path to technical glory and those who love the intricacies of managing people get to do just that. We end up with more competent managers and developers in the end.

Re: I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

#65

Post by geophile »

smileysteve wrote: post #54
geophile wrote: post #24

Good for you. I was in startups for 25 years, (except for a few years in an acquiring company), and I had this ongoing debate with myself and my bosses for many years: Should I stay on the technical side (developer, architect), or go into management? On one hand, I thought that I "should" go into management because ... that's what people do, right? On the other hand, I loathed management. Even as a team lead, meeting…

> On the other hand, I loathed management. Even as a team lead, meetings made me literally sick to my stomach, I don't know that you should use this criteria as the sole deal breaker. Managers should be shielding teams from unproductive meetings and pushing for productivity (action items) from the meetings that happen - holding their peers to a degree of standards. Now, if you hate 1:1, org planning, and successful m…

Everything about it. Every moment spent organizing, planning, reviewing, coordinating, is just torture. If, at work, I am doing anything but working on code, or preparing to (researching, reading, etc.), I feel like I am wasting my time, and it is just draining. At the end of a work day, my mood is completely determined by how much time I spent on code.

Re: I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

#67

Post by mywittyname »

ysavir wrote: post #56
gumby wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about it makes you insecure? It's about someone who changed jobs because they decided they'd prefer to do something else. It isn't one of those "in six weeks I turned my side gig into a Nobel-prize winning web site and now I'm a billionaire" clickbait articles.

Probably due to the very poor and misleading article title, which frames the situation as a "demotion", something that happens to us, not something that we decide to do. The article has a good message, but the title is absolute click-bait. Many people might come across the title, and although not interested in reading it, walk away with the idea that following dreams leads to negative consequences. I hope the author…

Yeah, the title of the article is pretty poor. It kind of sounds like someone who was promoted from a developer to something else, rose to the level of their incompetence, then reversed the promotion to go back to doing what they enjoyed.

This person was not a developer previously, so I don't understand how they were "demoted." Other than management > individual contributor.

What really happened was they changed jobs to do something they found more fulfilling. Which is great, but if I decided to change careers to building furniture, I wouldn't say I "got demoted to making furniture."

Re: I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

#68

Post by malux85 »

hinkley wrote: post #31
spicymaki wrote: post #9

I just get a feeling that no matter how privileged you are, how intelligent you are, how high or low a position you are in, or how much money you make there is going to be some random article on HN to make you feel insecure.

Security is an illusion and like kerning, you can both inform and break people by bringing their attention to the 'solutions' to that problem. There are other ways to look at the world. In some ways they can be both more and less stressful than contemporary western ideology.

Curious, can you elaborate?

Re: I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

#69

Post by VSerge »

twitch-chat wrote: post #40
spicymaki wrote: post #9

I just get a feeling that no matter how privileged you are, how intelligent you are, how high or low a position you are in, or how much money you make there is going to be some random article on HN to make you feel insecure.

I get a feeling you commented after reading the headline and didn't read the article. This is a positive story and I'm glad the person was given the opportunity to chase her dreams.

I second this wholeheartedly, it is a very positive story, albeit with a cheeky title. The article explains how a person in a "higher" position (director of design) made the active choice to change career path and start again as an associate developer.

It didn't come out of thin air, as this person had been coding as a hobby for a few years (Ludum Dare rocks!). So she actually did have some skills, though maybe not as formal or structured as say, a tech recruiter, might want to.

Furthermore, it's great that she is working in an organisation that would support such a change. It makes this career change much easier than having to quit your job and trying to get gigs or get hired without having formal credentials or experience.

Re: I followed my dreams to get demoted to software developer

#70

Post by CivBase »

Can someone explain to me why titles like Engineer, Architect, and Developer are perceived as having less value than titles like Manager or Director? Managing products requires a completely different skill set from managing people. Both skills are vital to the success of a business and neither are trivially developed or easily replaced.

If you ask me, the "demotion" in this article is not going from Director of Design to Software Developer. The demotion is going from a senior level position to an entry level one. But that's not how it's presented.

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