Random career advice - India - FAANG
I am an Microsoft India employee. How does a software engineer career evolve after he hits 45 years. You need to make both ends meet and be prepared for additional expenses. What do people do till they retire? Edit: 5 YOE, 62 level as if now. Planning for 63 by dec 2020.
Shift from IC to M. Or, some people start their own ventures. Are you in Microsoft IDC? YOE?
If you're an IDC SDE you're probably already top 1% in your profession... With the amount of growth coming up in the next decade or two, you'll have more options than you can handle. Architect at start ups Engineering manager at large corp Product manager at any of these MBA and then Sales, product, strategy roles Your own startup Just grow in MSFT People will literally pay you for advice
Are these advices only true for India or true for US as well?
I'd guess the probability is significantly higher in India. I can personally call up about 200 people in Seattle and bay area who can be a decent software architect for a startup. I can name 5 in India. OP will be one of those 5 in a few years.
Added the additional details
If you haven’t earned enough to retire by 45, then you need to change your strategy. Ideally, you should be working in top management after 45 or maybe doing something that you like.
Won't top management posts get crowded. I mean there is a ratio of 1:20 upper level to IC now. After 15 years, all the current IC will look for upper management posts . So either the companies should grow 20x to accommodate all ( unlikely), or some people end up kicked from industry
Not everyone wants to be in top management. At least 20% people would be contented with just coding and won’t try for it. Let’s say 20% will end up starting their own venture. Another 20% would just get fed up as Working in IT can be draining and they will end up in a different field. So your competition is with remaining 40% and as companies grow, your chances of making in top management is around 1/3 if you are Persistent and perform well.