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Staying in development. I figured out early on that I had no interest in management, and that served me well during the 2000 bubble burst and 2008 crisis. What
by ralphc 8y ago
Staying in development. I figured out early on that I had no interest in management, and that served me well during the 2000 bubble burst and 2008 crisis. What was harder to learn was that I had no interest in the Software Architect role. I thought it was something I was "supposed" to move up into, but as I talked to my managers about it over a period of a couple of years I realized it was a lot of meetings and drawing diagrams, and I was better, and happier, actually writing code.
- whatimeantosay 8y agoI'm 41 yo and feeling like I'm at a bit of a crossroad. I feel that I will be miserable as a manager, and will always want the introverted work of development. How has it worked out for you? Any tips?
- ralphc 8y agoI was able to retire at 55 last year, so it worked out. The last few years were spent at big companies so there was zero pressure to move into management, there were plenty of people that wanted to do that so they had their fill. I think there was some expectation to move into a Tech Lead type role but if you do some of the Tech Lead tasks unofficially (code practices, mentoring) you should do fine. At 41 think of it this way. You're older and if you're laid off, would you rather be a middle manager looking for a job or a developer that's kept up your skills?