SWE to Management in Tech

Dec 27, 2021 5 Comments

YOE 10+
TC 300k
Age 32

Just turned 32 and looking to move into management.

Been coding for over 10 years.

Main reasons for the move are:

1. Higher TC. 300k is decent, but I’m looking to start a family and it’s probably not going to be enough for NYC living. I also support my parents.

2. Coding is starting to take a toll on me mentally and physically. Moving from one project to the next is just stressful and not fulfilling

3. I’m a people-person and think I would be suitable for a management role

Concerns:

1. Little to no coding - would it reduce my marketability in the future?

2. Job market - it’s not as hot as it is for SWE. Would switching jobs as a manager in the future be difficult?

#career #engineering #swe #management

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TOP 5 Comments
  • To answer your questions.

    1. No one expect leadership to do IC work. At some point your job is going to be work organization, setting goals, developing your org, opening offshore locations, and most important developing and retaining your people. Your coding skills don’t help with any of the aforementioned items.

    2. Leadership roles are indeed relatively rare, and way more risky for employers to take you on because you’ll have bigger impact to the organization and culture than many ICs. On the bright side, you’ll do more out of the box and impactful work over the long term.

    P.S. I don’t code since before pandemic, and my value only grew as a manager.
    Dec 27, 2021 3
    • It is, the higher you go, the harder it becomes. However, it’s not linear, especially in this remote work day and age.

      There’s plenty of movement in EM and Director level roles, it becomes harder at VP/SVP/CTO level.
      Dec 27, 2021
    • A particular challenge with EMs, is that about 50% of employers don’t really want EMs, they’re looking for a team/tech leads that would also do management “on a side”.

      If you stay away from that from the get go, you’ll be on the proper leadership track.
      Dec 27, 2021
  • Bloomberg / Eng
    mymoney

    Go to company page Bloomberg Eng

    mymoney
    Coding is taking a toll on you mentally?
    In that case, management is also a lot stressful. Please don’t underestimate the mental pressure in mgmt.
    Dec 27, 2021 0