Ask HN: Bad idea to switch to TPM role if I still enjoy dev work?
I have 3.6YOE as a backend dev, no existing PM experience other than a role at a previous growth stage company I worked for. Long story short, I really want to work for them but their offer was low ($120k w/ benefits), more than 15% less than what I currently make at a no-name startup.
I suck at leetcode, but at this point I'm weighing my options as to whether I should stick it out for a few months (grinding leet) and chase far better money as a dev or spend a year at this new TPM gig, take a bit of a $$ hit to speed up the transition / career hack of not needing to switch to PM work internally and later take the PM track at FAANG and largely have a better chance at high TC than I would as an engineer?
I'm mostly worried about how difficult it would be to get back into dev work, if I either dislike PM work or realize I have better TC potential as an engineer.
5 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 22.1 ms ] threadBeing so familiar with some of their open source code already feels like a nice leg up.
I don't doubt that a PM / TPM salary is lower than a backend engineer salary, but it could be good experience early in your career.
I wouldn't worry much about being able to transition back into dev work after 1-2 years out given how high the demand for developers virtually everywhere is right now.
Sometimes yes. In general, probably not.
Development pays better, and there are way more opportunities. Interest and aptitude matter a lot, short and long term, for both domains.
Either way, you won't be poor.
Look at available data (eg levels.fyi). I don't think it will be a shortcut to higher comp, unless you are more interested in product work or TPM work. Or if you're better at it (which you might be after several years, but probably not for a while).
Also, for truly large organizations, an MBA may be useful. In some cases, it may be necessary.
> fulfillment than being a pure developer
Maybe. Hopefully! You'll know only if you try it.
> The strategy side of things feels very different, but the interview process seems much more sane and less broken?
Interviewing for product related fields is also not sane and pretty broken.
Same performance. Just different performance skills.
Generally a TPM (technical program manager) has more of a schedule / timeline focus to help people know what is happening when. Whereas the PM (product manager) role defines the vision while adjusting for user and business needs.
If you want to be a product manager I’d probably interview for that role directly as TPM is not always in the same org. Hope that helps and good luck!