How does one overcome the Peter Principle?
How to go from Dev to PM
21–30 of 35 posts
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#22No offense ... But this proposition doesn't sound very appealing at all ... I love how with hard work and determination, mastering technical knowledge, you too can become a middling middle managing bean counter too ... :) Perhaps that is a bit harsh but ... I dunno.
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#23Article fails to explain why a dev would desire to become a PM. My best guess is an entry point to a management career in shops run by non-devs. Edit: I imagine that's perfectly natural - when I was in backoffice IT I strongly desired to transition into project management so that I could transition into people management so that I could make meaningful decisions and get credit for them. It's probably the same in prod…
"Article fails to explain why a dev would desire to become a PM." (in most companies) more money, power, autonomy. Except in very early stage startups, it is the rare developer who has more of any of this than even the lowliest PM. e.g: I think Vic Gundotra makes more money, and has more power at Google than most (all?) engineers there.
I'm not sure this is true, at least in the current climate. At our (Series B) startup, PMs make about half what engineers do.
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#24Anyone else confused by "PM"? I assume the author means Product Manager, but I'm not certain.
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#25[deleted]
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#26Ugh. Don't do it. Someone find me an article on how to go from PM back to dev.
Most PMs don't have the chops and just enjoy a job thats less grunt-worky. They usually don't have a choice. I seriously doubt anyone with real programming chops would be happy being an overseer rather than an architect.
I've worked with several PMs who had technical chops.
Note that not everyone who has the chops necessarily love programming. Also, as others pointed out, in many companies a PM earns more than any technical person.
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#27No offense ... But this proposition doesn't sound very appealing at all ... I love how with hard work and determination, mastering technical knowledge, you too can become a middling middle managing bean counter too ... :) Perhaps that is a bit harsh but ... I dunno.
A good PM is an great asset that adds huge value to a company. Most are middling middle managing bean counters.
Advice on how to make sure you become the former and not the later would be more useful than this blog post.
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#28How does one overcome the Peter Principle?
In a previous job, the "title" came after you actually performed well in that job and your current job. Worked pretty well most of the time. For anyone aspiring to start their own company, being a Product (not Project) Manager does make some sense as you get to tackle real problems with someone else's money.
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#29No offense ... But this proposition doesn't sound very appealing at all ... I love how with hard work and determination, mastering technical knowledge, you too can become a middling middle managing bean counter too ... :) Perhaps that is a bit harsh but ... I dunno.
A good PM is an great asset that adds huge value to a company. Most are middling middle managing bean counters. Advice on how to make sure you become the former and not the later would be more useful than this blog post.
I think the real problem is the company you work for as a PM. What kind of projects you are working on, who is actually holding the purse strings, who the clients are (internally or externally) etc.
I know project managers who are boss hog and ones who are little more than account managers with a title.
TINSTAAFL.
Re: How to go from Dev to PM
#30Anyone else confused by "PM"? I assume the author means Product Manager, but I'm not certain.
Yes, it's Product Manager, as in the guy who is responsible for deciding what the team is going to build.
A lot of the replies here seem to be castigating the role of a Project Manager, which is the often technically clueless PHB type responsible for ensuring that a waterfall project is completed by its deadline.