Considering moving from Software Development to Technical Management role

Scougar · 24 May 2022 at 13:19

Guess I'm just writing this because I'm nervous.

I've been a software developer for around 20 to 22 years (wowzers.... seems crazy), and I'm about to interview for my technical managers position. I'm in Authentication realm, and know it pretty well, having developed the system... but still... managements a whole new ball game. Suddenly being the manager of highly respected developers and team members will be foreign to me.

I have limited management experience. My biggest management style role previously was being a supervisor for an international/national trucking company for the drivers. Not really management, just keeping them moving and dealing with everything they needed. I was pretty young back then.

1) Even if I manage to get the green light, it has to be worth it financially. There is a higher salary ceiling, but I'm already pretty high as a developer. It would need to be at least $10K more a year, but given my limited experience in management... we will see.

2) I'm concerned that if I do step away and in the end decide I don't like it (or perform badly eek!), I'll have eroded my dev skill set.

3) I am hesitant. I don't feel I'm a natural leader.
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I have to get the green light from three managers. I have one already, I just need the other two.

peterwalkley · 25 May 2022 at 08:17

I wouldn't worry much about 2). You must have needed to pick up new stuff many times over that 22 years so your programmer brain should be well trained by now to do it. Its a bit of a cliché, but once you learn to ride a bike you don't forget. Whilst you're not going to be writing code any more, you are still talking an awful lot with those that do, so that's going to keep the thought processes to the front. I'm still a dev (35 years ...) but find that managers I talk to who moved off development a while ago still understand what we're talking about.

On 3) I'd say look at it this way. Who would you prefer to be managed by ? A bossy, narcissistic **** who tells you how to do your job, or someone more modest who will admit their own knowledge gaps and get the whole team involved in solving problems. Use that "weakness" and be the second guy - they much nicer to work with.

Scougar · 25 May 2022 at 15:58

Good advice. Thank you.

I have in the past watched people progress to management, then act like they are clueless about development after. Just ridiculous.

Anyway, I'm not infallible at all. I have a ton of faults. A hate of paperwork amongst them LOL. (Admin work bores me to death and I become distracted easily. This is a real concern of mine that I will have to overcome in order to be successful.

I look at it as, if they aren't going to make me a senior dev, then I will go up the chain another way. I'm old enough that I am looking for the cash to get my kid though college in a few years etc.

(a senior dev is ironically what I was employed as but due to a paperwork screw up on the companies part, that somehow got messed up. Basically the position was a dev, but their offer was senior dev but they recorded it as just a dev in the system. To say I was ****** is an understatement, but I had no evidence as it was almost 2 years in later before that came to light).

mid_gen · 26 May 2022 at 17:01

Not being even a Senior developer with 20+ years experience is a bit odd? Even if you totally eschew any and all management, leadership etc.....to not be on senior with that many years exp is very strange.

But still, management is either something you like, or don't. I personally love it, although I'm actually in a principal role at the moment which doesn't involve any people management, but lots of technical management. I've done many years in people management roles, and never felt the responsibility onerous or draining.

Sounds like you suffer from some imposter syndrome tbh. Try and ditch that mindset. Good, experienced developers should be making hay while the sun shines in the current market. With 20+ years experience you could be applying for director level roles.

Scougar · 27 May 2022 at 02:51

mid_gen said:
Not being even a Senior developer with 20+ years experience is a bit odd? Even if you totally eschew any and all management, leadership etc.....to not be on senior with that many years exp is very strange.

But still, management is either something you like, or don't. I personally love it, although I'm actually in a principal role at the moment which doesn't involve any people management, but lots of technical management. I've done many years in people management roles, and never felt the responsibility onerous or draining.

Sounds like you suffer from some imposter syndrome tbh. Try and ditch that mindset. Good, experienced developers should be making hay while the sun shines in the current market. With 20+ years experience you could be applying for director level roles.

I worked for the government the first half in the UK, then moved to the USA. Both of those positions silo'd me, until my latest job. And yes, I suppose I do suffer from that mindset. Good call-out. I have got a lot better, and I am respected now in my current position.

I am not a guy that spends his time reading development books in his spare time being frank. Maybe I should, but I like my personal time, and work encroaches on that quite a lot already.

NickK · 27 May 2022 at 08:23

I moved from being a developer to a presales role then to being the technical product manager for the same product back in 2005. Since then I've held lots of positions and 70+ development team sizes. If you have any questions I'm happy to answer.

Communication. You will now need to communicate with a wider audience with their own motivations and set objectives. I found working in presales reset my focus which was good and from that it's easier to communicate with the business in a wider context.

Learning. Unfortunately you should never kick back and stop learning and planning otherwise life will simply kick you to the side. This means plan yourself a long term goal such as CISO/CTO and then plan small steps of learning - that includes soft skills. I used to take all the soft skills courses and never take the technical ones (I find the technical stuff easy to figure out). I ended up on negotiation courses, on product management courses, leadership, mentoring courses etc. If you've not learnt something new this year, do it. If you've not learnt something in 3 years leave the company.

I know old contractors that code.. they like that and that's their profession - yet they have to have mastered the above for their business value to remain relevant.

Permanent employees still need the above as "permanent" now is a road of hire-and-fire (under 2 years) and hire-and-redunant (over 2 years). If you're committing to the company then expect commitment back - hence my point about 1 and 3 years w.r.t learning.

Scougar · 27 May 2022 at 13:31

My team right now is actually winding down from heavy development to more of a front end code base, with back end pre-coded stuff (off the shelf product with configuration), so there is so much less for me to do as a coder.

I have a 'discussion' today about the position with the 2nd boss (out of 3). See how that goes. Whatever it is, I need to start getting back on-board with learning and figuring out my path, as it's a little murky right now.

Edit: had a good discussion about the role with my manager two levels up, and I don't think it's right for me just now. It's much more of HR/planning than the technical lead role I thought it was. He wasn't trying to put me off, he actually has me on a path to take over the senior dev role on this team, once the senior dev retires (which could be anywhere from now, till 2 years (urgh) Instead, I'm going to be talking to other teams, about devsecops and SRE roles instead, and see what other opportunities that will challenge me exist. I thrive in challenges, not in the status quo roles.

NickK · 27 May 2022 at 22:41

Focus on a known security qualification.

McBain · 19 Oct 2022 at 10:15

I'm in a very similar boat, at the higher end as far as a developer's pay scale is concerned, senior dev, company want to push me into Tech Lead/Manager, ive turned it down multiple times because I've done lead roles before and hated it (where people management is included)

At the very least I'd suggest requesting to have some form of probation included where you can go back to what you're currently doing if you don't like it.