4 ms·

> apply to be a manager and probably say you had more management experience than you really do. That's not great advice. Don't lie to get a job. > Do not tell

> apply to be a manager and probably say you had more management experience than you really do. That's not great advice. Don't lie to get a job. > Do not tell your boss you want his job/to be a manager Every company I've worked at has needed more great engineering managers. There's more than enough work, and anyone who says "I want to help" is my hero. Where I work, when engineers say they want to become managers, we give them gently escalating management responsibilities, enroll them in management training, and give them a mentor for guidance. And later we check to make sure it's still something they want -- it's truly a different job, so they should be able to say "not for me" and go back to being an IC.

aceon48 9y ago
Wow that's smart and awesome. What company does this?
andy_ppp 9y ago
> That's not great advice. Don't lie to get a job. It wasn't advice. I was saying it is one of the ways I've seen people transition into management. Interestingly, the way you said management training happens at your company, I've never seen that happen anywhere, so it sounds like a fantastic place to work. How many people who have been through the management program now have a team?
sidlls 9y ago
I think this very much depends on the organization. Many managers are political creatures who view any desire by ICs to move up the non-technical ladder as a direct threat to them. Take the anecdote for what it is, but I've experienced that personally, and have had friends who have as well. It doesn't necessarily end well. In my case, I started seriously considering a constructive termination suit until I finally found alternate employment (it took almost three months--I wasn't in the Bay Area at the time). My current employer is more like what you describe, however, and I'm thankful for it.
jpatokal 9y ago
> Every company I've worked at has needed more great engineering managers. Has every company you've worked at been successful or at least rapidly growing? There's plenty of cake to go around in a company doubling in size every year, but the daggers come out when there are layoffs twice a year, particularly when the people being laid off aren't SV software engineers with tons of other options.

aceon48 9y ago

Wow that's smart and awesome. What company does this?

andy_ppp 9y ago

> That's not great advice. Don't lie to get a job. It wasn't advice. I was saying it is one of the ways I've seen people transition into management. Interestingly, the way you said management training happens at your company, I've never seen that happen anywhere, so it sounds like a fantastic place to work. How many people who have been through the management program now have a team?

sidlls 9y ago

I think this very much depends on the organization. Many managers are political creatures who view any desire by ICs to move up the non-technical ladder as a direct threat to them. Take the anecdote for what it is, but I've experienced that personally, and have had friends who have as well. It doesn't necessarily end well. In my case, I started seriously considering a constructive termination suit until I finally found alternate employment (it took almost three months--I wasn't in the Bay Area at the time). My current employer is more like what you describe, however, and I'm thankful for it.

jpatokal 9y ago

> Every company I've worked at has needed more great engineering managers. Has every company you've worked at been successful or at least rapidly growing? There's plenty of cake to go around in a company doubling in size every year, but the daggers come out when there are layoffs twice a year, particularly when the people being laid off aren't SV software engineers with tons of other options.