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Ask HN: How to get to top of tech field?

7 points by agentofoblivion ↗ HN
What should people be doing that have started their technical careers in the tech industry so that they maximize their earning potential? There's more to life than money, but let's limit the scope of the question to this one objective for clarity.

For instance, I'm an individual contributor Research Scientist at AWS. Should I become increasingly technical and aim to publish in machine learning outlets above all else, thereby building reputation? Should I just focus on building stuff for the business? Should I try to move into management? I realize this partly depends on what the individual wants to do, but in reality most organizations don't have a very deep technical track (Amazon is an exception), so it makes sense to choose one over the other if you're trying to maximize earnings.

Ultimately the fear is that becoming increasingly technical might paint one into a career corner that's inescapable. Thoughts?

6 comments

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PaulHoule
How do you feel about the courses of action that you list?
philippz
I know that you asked for more money, but basically what helps you to stand out is passion (and the implications it has). You can make a lot of money by building something on your own, climbing up the management ladder or becoming a domain expert. Going into a technical direction helps, as those people are wanted. It's not an easy questions so definitely, try to find a vision of yourself and something you're passioned about and stick with it, the rest will evolve.
UK-AL
I know lots of people with passion. Doesn't help with their career though.
philippz
The rest is related to soft skills:

Sharing: Sharing your knowledge is crucial to become an expert. This is the only way to get recognized as an expert and getting paid like one. You should in general do this within your target group, in your business network (e.g. LinkedIn) and it's a good way to do this on your blog and own domain.

Networking: The other part is networking. Sharing your knowledge in the right circles, to the right time, all of the time ;). At a certain level your career gets leveraged by the relationships you've build over years. Be loyal, be honest, be hardworking and help others to achieve their goals.

Selling: You need to know how to sell yourself, in person as well as online. It's easy to go the "extra mile". Being found on Google helps. Have a proper profile on LinkedIn, share your knowledge on a blog - these things have a signaling effect on others and are indicators of trust and competence.

UK-AL
So basically it's marketing, not passion.
philippz
If you want to sum it up as marketing, do so. Of course you have to do "marketing & sales" for yourself.

IMHO passion is the foundation. All of these things turn out as aspired if you have the passion to pursue your goal even in times in which you don't have success, mess up/fail, etc. It can also be the passion for success. At least you need ambition.