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thank you, those are great ideas - but mostly out of reach for me. I simply lack the time (and brain, maybe). Need to find something I already have that will be

thank you, those are great ideas - but mostly out of reach for me. I simply lack the time (and brain, maybe). Need to find something I already have that will be valuable on the job market with a little primping ... as other responder proposed, for me this will probably involve something on the softer side of the industry - design, product etc.

alephnerd 1y ago
> as other responder proposed, for me this will probably involve something on the softer side of the industry - design, product etc. As a former SWE-turned-PM, you won't survive as a PM or Designer if this is the reason you became one. This is how bad PMs become PMs. The PM and Designer market is very competitive, and PMs are expected to be domain experts of their entire market category and have engineering chops to not get BSed by engineers and have showmanship to successfully manage sales. > I simply lack the time (and brain, maybe) I'd try to find the time if possible. Maybe take a single course a semester to ramp up. Despite the negativity on HN, there is a lot of interesting innovation in the AI/ML world - both on the math/algos side as well as the infra/platform side. Alternatively, as mentioned by others, really leverage your network and friendships to get jobs. It's a superpower you have as an old-timer in the industry - leverage it.
- marstall 1y ago
  i've booped in and out of PM roles throughout my career - don't care to go back. thinking of something that combines left/right brain ... this stuff lives in my side projects but I'm thinking of ways of making one of them vibe into career energy, it's happened before ...
  - alephnerd 1y ago
    I mean, in that case it sounds like you have enough understanding of business needs then to be a valuable Staff or Principal Engineer, and enough engineering experience to back your decisions up. Assuming you are located in a major tech hub, I don't see a reason that you should be too worried about chronic underemployment - especially in an AI-driven world which has made domain experience even more critical. Honestly, just working on your side projects like you mentioned, and finding companies that are aligned with what your side projects aim to do puts you ahead of 95-97% of candidates. The job hunt has been hard for people, but most candidates (especially the noisiest ones) don't really have your profile or background, but demand principal or staff level salaries and roles. > thinking of something that combines left/right brain Staff/Sr Staff/Principal Engineer or Architect type roles might fit the bill for you. And with your YoE, I think if you were to job hunt you could leverage your network to land that kind of role with ease. Honestly, you are not the type of persona that has difficulty landing jobs (holding for geography ofc). An AI/Vibe Coding market only makes domain experience more critical because hallucinations can cause significant monetary damage, so people who can act as the voice of reason for both the technical and business needs are extremely valuable.

alephnerd 1y ago

> as other responder proposed, for me this will probably involve something on the softer side of the industry - design, product etc. As a former SWE-turned-PM, you won't survive as a PM or Designer if this is the reason you became one. This is how bad PMs become PMs. The PM and Designer market is very competitive, and PMs are expected to be domain experts of their entire market category and have engineering chops to not get BSed by engineers and have showmanship to successfully manage sales. > I simply lack the time (and brain, maybe) I'd try to find the time if possible. Maybe take a single course a semester to ramp up. Despite the negativity on HN, there is a lot of interesting innovation in the AI/ML world - both on the math/algos side as well as the infra/platform side. Alternatively, as mentioned by others, really leverage your network and friendships to get jobs. It's a superpower you have as an old-timer in the industry - leverage it.

marstall 1y ago
i've booped in and out of PM roles throughout my career - don't care to go back. thinking of something that combines left/right brain ... this stuff lives in my side projects but I'm thinking of ways of making one of them vibe into career energy, it's happened before ...
- alephnerd 1y ago
  I mean, in that case it sounds like you have enough understanding of business needs then to be a valuable Staff or Principal Engineer, and enough engineering experience to back your decisions up. Assuming you are located in a major tech hub, I don't see a reason that you should be too worried about chronic underemployment - especially in an AI-driven world which has made domain experience even more critical. Honestly, just working on your side projects like you mentioned, and finding companies that are aligned with what your side projects aim to do puts you ahead of 95-97% of candidates. The job hunt has been hard for people, but most candidates (especially the noisiest ones) don't really have your profile or background, but demand principal or staff level salaries and roles. > thinking of something that combines left/right brain Staff/Sr Staff/Principal Engineer or Architect type roles might fit the bill for you. And with your YoE, I think if you were to job hunt you could leverage your network to land that kind of role with ease. Honestly, you are not the type of persona that has difficulty landing jobs (holding for geography ofc). An AI/Vibe Coding market only makes domain experience more critical because hallucinations can cause significant monetary damage, so people who can act as the voice of reason for both the technical and business needs are extremely valuable.