Ask HN: Moving up from engineering to management

2 points by Jemaclus 12y ago ↗ HN

I'm a senior dev at my company (70 employees in the SF office). I've lead a bunch of projects and while I haven't had any direct reports, I've been in charge of those projects and managed/led other engineers who worked on those projects. I reached a realization awhile back that I really enjoyed that kind of role. However, there appears to be little upward mobility in this company. The best I can do is hope that another project opens up and that I can get the lead engineer position on that project.

But I also think such responsibility involves promotions/raises/whatever, which doesn't happen currently.

So my question is: how does a senior/lead dev move up into a management-level position?

I have a few options as I see it:

* Stay where I am, work hard, and hope someone notices (Problem: I've talked to my boss about it, and he doesn't know of any positions opening soon)

* Find another large company that's trying to fill a management role (Problem: I have no previous management experience, so probably wouldn't get hired. Additionally, most startups in SF have very flat structures where everyone reports to CEO or CTO, which means no management opportunities.)

* Start my own company (Problem: lots of them)

Anyway, any thoughts?

4 comments

[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 23.6 ms ] thread

RougeFemme 12y ago ↗

Try a medium-sized company; it might be more flexible with hiring "requirements" and be willing to look at the time you spent leading other engineers. Be prepared to talk about how you mentored them, resolving intra-team differences, etc.

Sometimes you have to move away in order to move up, especially if you've been pigeon-holed as just a senior developer. Another company will view you through fresh eyes, with an unbiased perspective.

philjr 12y ago ↗

Just to echo this, I've hired folks in who were team leads / senior engineers in other companies who wanted to get in to management but their companies were too small and not growing. So we hired them as individual contributors and promoted them as the team got bigger.

heat 12y ago ↗

I made the move from engineer to manager. Along the way, I managed colleagues and friends I used to sit beside while I was an engineer. It's difficult but you learn a lot about managing, and more importantly, leading.

I believe you'll need to move to a larger company (I did mine at a public company but our location had about 1000 people). I've done a lot of hiring (as a manager) and I was always looking for a good mix of tech and management skills. Shoot for the first role at a larger company as being mostly based on your engineering skills but make it clear that you would like to use your team management abilities more.

At larger companies, there's always lots of projects and lots of role to fill so you'd definitely get more chances at moving 100% into a management role.

philjr 12y ago ↗

This is a bit late, but my 2c - make sure you want this kind of role. Line management in companies with good engineers is more facilitation and people management than anything else.

Have a frank conversation with your boss and tell him you want to make the move in to management. Tell him you would consider leaving to make the move. Don't let him sit on his laurels - get him to talk to his boss about what positions there might be. If you get no luck there, talk to other folks in senior / management positions within the company.

That same conversation should be a frank discussion about you as a potential manager. There are lots of things you can take responsibility for without being a manager, so ask your manager in the mean time can you take on these extra duties without relieving you of any of your current duties.

The first promotion in to management is the difficult one and is typically filled by need. If you're in a growing company, there will be a need at some point, you just may have to accept moving out of your comfort zone.

By far and away your best chance is getting a position in your current workplace, so try and do everything in your power to make that happen. If you don't see any light or movement within 6 months, move on.