4 ms·

The John Carmack interview with Lex Friedman - it reminded me that becoming a specialized IC can be a viable terminal career state; that moving into management

• solardev 4y ago
  How so? Didn't he move to Meta to manage/lead their VR efforts, then left that for his own startup? That doesn't mean he never gets to code anymore, but he's not really just an IC anymore, is he?
  • rahimnathwani 4y ago
    I don't know the specifics of this case, but someone can be a technical leader with significant impact, without having a large number of direct or indirect reports.
    • solardev 4y ago
      > someone can be a technical leader with significant impact, without having a large number of direct or indirect reports. Can you explain what you mean by this? In my (limited) knowledge of Carmack, he is both a craftsman and a businessperson... he founded several companies and was the CTO of Oculus for a while. Hard to imagine there not being direct or indirect reports in that case. In either case, he's definitely better known as a thought leader and rockstar developer rather than an effective executive, I suppose. I think he left Meta in part because he couldn't really get past all the red tape and move the company where he thought Oculus needed to go.
      • rahimnathwani 4y ago
        "In either case, he's definitely better known as a thought leader and rockstar developer rather than an effective executive, I suppose" Yes, this is what I mean.