My kids are finally old enough so that I can get back to concentrating on my career. I want to create a plan on how to get into a management role where I’m compensated well (ie manager at a FAANG or equivalent). I keep hearing I need to be a Director at another company before I can even apply for a manager role there. My strengths lie in mentoring, coaching people, and overall communication skills. From a tech standpoint my strength lies in analytical skills but I’m tired of coding daily. I’m in my mid 30s and finishing up my Masters in DS in two years. Experience - 10 years as a DBA, 1 year as a Data Scientist. Breaks in the middle for each of the kids. Option 1 - continue to work as a DS for two years, move into lead once I finish my masters for another two years, apply for management positions outside FAANG for 3 years, then apply to FAANG? Option 2 - apply for a DS role within FAANG as I finish my masters, then try to make my way up internally. Thoughts?
IC data scientists get compensated very well at the top tech companies. Probably more than directors at your company. There's no guarantee that any amount of internal advancement will get you into those companies from CPG. Best bet is to get good at data science and apply as an IC at tech firms to break into the industry.
Thank you. Yes that’s the goal.
You don’t need to be a manager to be comped well.
Why you want to be a manager? And you want to manage other data scientist at FAANG? I'd say, get at least 10 yrs DS experience first if you are thinking about manager role.. DBA experience doesn't bring much value these days and it's kind of obsolete..
I feel like it may be a better fit in a few years because of my people and mentoring skills.