For an engineer(10 yoe in sys sw,app sw,devops) thats working on the latest technologies & wanting to break into a leadership role(read:Program/Engineering/Product management) ; will a leadership role in a legacy shop(old tools,tech stack) help get one's feet in the door ? Will the risk involved in moving from working on latest tech to some legacy for the sake of breaking into mgmt pay off (say after a year) with improved prospects for a future leadership role in latest tech?
Choosing mgmt of legacy stack will impact your future choices
I would say work at a company where it’s possible to move up (there are open manager positions). I have far less experience than you and I’ve always been asked if I wanted the manager related roles at every company I’ve worked at (my guess is people see me as super organized and a great people person). I never really been interested in that track though.
I am goin through the same OP. I have been in tech/eng for 13 yrs and have an offer in product management at a bank. I think you should totally shape your resume in terms of prod management or leadership finding initiative and benefits. Then try interviewing at tech companies as well. Going back to legacy for a bit to dip your toe in water doesnt feel that bad. You could always go back to your tech roles or other prod mgmt roles in different companies
Are you a tech lead? Is relatively simple to move to eng. management if you are first a great tech lead.
3+ years as a manager is kind of needed before someone considers for management positions, primarily you need to deal with bunch of shit that may not happen all in one year, hiring, delivering, operations, budgeting, performance management, etc.