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In my mind a manager is not necessarily a leader or the leader. And certainly not a technical leader. Agreed though that a director/CTO is more of a management

In my mind a manager is not necessarily a leader or the leader. And certainly not a technical leader. Agreed though that a director/CTO is more of a management position, but I've seen coding CTO's, especially in the startup world. I don't know what I want career-wise, vertically speaking, and that would be proprietary to every employer anyway. What I'm getting at is that I feel like I should be able to contribute more at this point, most simply expressed as helping the team and company make better technical decisions. How do I leverage myself better? I'm kind of at this point where I feel like I've maxed out whatever my job title is now (NOT just speaking about my current employer - just speaking about my career in general), and feeling bored and stagnant. I don't really know where I want to go, because I'm not sure where I CAN go. I know there's a path to management which I've turned down repeatedly (I'm not interested in managing people, in having one on ones, as operating as an extension of HR in ranking employees, etc). And I see people who have made a quantum leap somehow to something well beyond a Sr. Engineer - say, Architect (kind of an out-moded term in my mind), or "Principal" which is a kind of nebulous guru-like position. Is there a third choice beyond just staying in place? It's just really nagging me to feel like I'm not growing. I've done so many things - desktop applications, web, e-commerce, mobile, client, server, frontend, backend, enterprise, yada yada. I've run out of room to grow in that dimension, because I've been around the block and back.

mikeryan 16y ago
I've pretty much only seen coding CTOs in the startup world (or small < 30 people tech services companies). Go start a company if you want to grow. You sound skilled. Quit your job, start consulting and start a product on the side as a technical founder.
- yesno 16y ago
  Here, let me give more "less painful" advise: 1) Don't quit your job, start consulting on the side 2) Don't quit your job, start a product on the side Both options won't cut paycheck. Take calculated risk. OP is no longer a 24 years old super smart developer.
  - mikeryan 16y ago
    So I can't speak to his particular situation. But in general I disagree with this. I think quitting the job is the most important part. Consulting is the safety. "Leap and the net will appear" - John Burroughs
    - manish 16y ago
      Agreed. We can some how manage to make our living on consulting and cutting expenses, but if you are still in day job, it will take up major part of your time and energy. Also, some companies will have employment agreement that you will not work for any other thing
    - yesno 16y ago
      That is assuming everything will go well: this person will get a few customers ASAP, within 1 week or 2, to stay a float for at least 1 - 1.5 years. Consulting requires networks and connections. If the person stick too long as a "Senior Software Developer" and rarely meet non-geek human being (potential customers), it'll be a while before the person can get a well-paying less-stressful consulting offers.
      - gnosis 16y ago
        First, if he quits he might be able to consult for the company he just quit from. They, presumably, know he's good and can do the work. So they could hire him back as a consultant (where he'll probably make more money and perhaps do more of the kind of work he's really after). Second, if you work in the technology field, meeting geeks is a great way to find potential clients. People in the technology field tend to move around a lot from company to company and from position to position. So the developer you meet at one company today may well be a manager or even a CTO at another company tomorrow. They will probably be the very people who'll need to hire consultants at some point in the future. Make a good impression on them and keep in touch, and you'll have a nice network of contacts for consulting work down the road. As a senior developer, I bet he's already made plenty of such contacts. Now it's just a matter of getting in touch and letting them know he's looking for consulting work.

mikeryan 16y ago

I've pretty much only seen coding CTOs in the startup world (or small < 30 people tech services companies). Go start a company if you want to grow. You sound skilled. Quit your job, start consulting and start a product on the side as a technical founder.

yesno 16y ago
Here, let me give more "less painful" advise: 1) Don't quit your job, start consulting on the side 2) Don't quit your job, start a product on the side Both options won't cut paycheck. Take calculated risk. OP is no longer a 24 years old super smart developer.
- mikeryan 16y ago
  So I can't speak to his particular situation. But in general I disagree with this. I think quitting the job is the most important part. Consulting is the safety. "Leap and the net will appear" - John Burroughs
  - manish 16y ago
    Agreed. We can some how manage to make our living on consulting and cutting expenses, but if you are still in day job, it will take up major part of your time and energy. Also, some companies will have employment agreement that you will not work for any other thing
  - yesno 16y ago
    That is assuming everything will go well: this person will get a few customers ASAP, within 1 week or 2, to stay a float for at least 1 - 1.5 years. Consulting requires networks and connections. If the person stick too long as a "Senior Software Developer" and rarely meet non-geek human being (potential customers), it'll be a while before the person can get a well-paying less-stressful consulting offers.
    - gnosis 16y ago
      First, if he quits he might be able to consult for the company he just quit from. They, presumably, know he's good and can do the work. So they could hire him back as a consultant (where he'll probably make more money and perhaps do more of the kind of work he's really after). Second, if you work in the technology field, meeting geeks is a great way to find potential clients. People in the technology field tend to move around a lot from company to company and from position to position. So the developer you meet at one company today may well be a manager or even a CTO at another company tomorrow. They will probably be the very people who'll need to hire consultants at some point in the future. Make a good impression on them and keep in touch, and you'll have a nice network of contacts for consulting work down the road. As a senior developer, I bet he's already made plenty of such contacts. Now it's just a matter of getting in touch and letting them know he's looking for consulting work.