SDE to Product/Program manager
Is it possible to transition from SDE to TPM(Program/Product) in a year? Is it worth it? (in terms of job security, wlb, pay scale, career growth) What should be my game plan for the switch? Anyone who did this, would love to know about your experiences.
So far as I know, TPM or PMs I work with get paid more than engineers and do scheduling and resource management. You can feel empty if you are not doing actual work. Also some programs get cut in Q3/Q4 and you might get axed if you have no work
That is one of the reason I want to become Technical Product/Program manager so that I can be valuable technology wise but don't have to worry about implementation details and focus on big picture.
That’s wise but in long term, it pays off to be in people management ladder if you want to climb career ladder. PMs can only go so high, for example, Apple TPM can go as high as IC 4, I don’t know anyone who has made to IC5 . As you get older, There is high probability of you getting replaced with young blood with more energy as being PM doesn’t need too much experience
I used to be a tech lead at GM. Now I’m a PM at a large financial firm. Depends. Why are you wanting to switch? You won’t be writing software anymore. A lot of people switch thinking it’ll be easier and less work. That has not been the case for me so far. It’s a lot of work.
I don't want to keep writing software all my life. May be its an Impostor syndrome but I feel I am not a very good engineer. On the other hand, I am really good at communicating and whenever I doing PM stuff (coming up with idea/planning etc.) I enjoy it and don't mind going extra mile. I do not hate implementing ideas but feel a lot more comfortable about coming up with good ideas and leaving implementation details to someone else. Also, my ultimate goal is to become VP/Director so would like to start early on in my career. YoE: 3