3 ms·
Ask HN: Code School for an Experience Project Manager?
So I'm going to ask yet another one of these annoying questions....
My background: I've got a degree in engineering management w/ a specialization in Industrial Engineering. I've been in the software/hardware world for 6 years. I started in aerospace as what can only be translated loosely as a "Solutions Engineer" which was a unheard of rarity, my co-workers were grey beard engineers called back from retirement. After a few years there I went on to a Big 4 Management Consulting firm. I did a lot of Project Management IT stuff in the finance and health care sector for just over a year.
Now I work at a web agency where I'm the "technical project manager," "devops" and cranky IT guy.
Here's my challenge: I'm trying to leave Washington DC to move to San Fran, Austin, or Portland. I've been actively trying to get a job in one of these cities for the past 5 months. I've had some really great interviews in the beginning with some more mature startups and other mid sized companies. For the past 2.5 months I can't get a single person to respond to my applications.
My skills thus far (Python, Django and Bash): Several web scrapers, load testing via Locust, I run my own set on Mezzanine (Django project), I've got another site for a wedding that runs on Django and uses some CBV for RSVPing to the wedding, as well as a JS integration with Echonest.
Last night I applied to what I only later realized was a dev director position, there wasn't much of a hint to writing code but I caught it after I applied. I continuously find myself attracted to this position and only wishing I could have those type of positions.
Today I realized maybe I should go to code school boot camp.
My Ask:
1. Does anyone have an opinion/experience similar to this?
2. Is this a really bad idea?
3. Any recommendations on schools?
Ps. I looked at getting a MS in Comp Sci is out of the question.
- czbond 13y agoDo you want to program, manage projects, or manage people? They're all entirely different, and usually a different personality. I am guessing by asking for a code school, you would rather program? Or are you mainly interested in a code school because of the perceived higher salary of coders (not true, btw)
- __throwmeaway 13y agoNo I'm not in this as some sort of salary booster. I'm looking to manage(lead not manage) people in particular developers. The reason I'm saying code school is that no one (that I know of) lets people who weren't at some point a developer, manage developers. Although I do like writing code so I'd be shooting for maybe a 40% of my time writing code.