6 ms·
It's there a path into management without being a developer first?
by laurieg 9y ago
It's there a path into management without being a developer first?
- dagw 9y agoGoing back to school and getting an MBA seems to work for a lot of people.
- hycaria 9y agoIt's better when a company endorses you for an MBA...
- jcadam 9y agoI worked for a large company that paid for my MBA, and then I was caught up in a mass layoff immediately after graduating. Strange. Still working as an individual contributor Software Engineer (albeit a well paid one) all these years later. Can't seem to land a lead position.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago> Can't seem to land a lead position. Keep trying.
- jcadam 9y agoI've known people who were promoted only when they threatened to quit. One was a relatively new hire - I couldn't believe it worked in her case (who demands a promotion/raise after 2 months on the job)? Hmm....
- dagw 9y agoOne thing I've learned far too late in my career is that it's amazing what you can actually get if you just go up to the right person and say you want it.
- toomuchtodo 9y agoDo not get an MBA unless your company will pay for it and you're going to a top 10 school. It's a networking opportunity first, an education opportunity second. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16039042 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16039042
- Sammi 9y agoI know of two options if you are willing to work your way up slowly: 1. Become a domain expert and work in the domain and then move into product management. Kind of a round-about way to go about it, but if you like the domain then why not. 2. There are also a lot of low level project coordination jobs out there. It's not really management and it's really stressful work as you get a lot of responsibility, but not a lot of power. But if you don't burn out then you'll slowly get more and more clout and move up the hierarchy.
- 33W 9y agoDepending on the organization, roles in project management or analysis are non-developer routes to management.
- grok2 9y agoProduct management, sales, marketing etc coupled maybe with some business school training. Sometimes these are better paths into management, because you get sufficient product knowledge to help you understand the nitty-gritty details of what you will be managing or becoming a executive for.
- gerhardi 9y agoYou know, a large proportion of companies don’t even have developers employed or much to do with software, yet they still have people in management. This implies that there are multiple ways!