Fork in the Career Road

[Asher]

I've got 24 hours to choose between two positions to transition to at the end of the project I'm on (which is a couple weeks). It's a big decision because it basically is deciding if I head into management or keep on as a hardcore techie.

They are:
1) Tech Lead for the next version of our flagship software. It's a huge opportunity, with ~20 devs reporting to me technically. This is different from being a functional manager which deals with vacations, HR, etc because it's focused entirely on the product and people's contribution to it. I would get final say on architecture decisions, who works on what, what kind of features we're able to add, etc. There is still development here, but it's secondary to managing the other developers on a technical level.

Pros: Much higher visibility, probably greater path for career advancement
Cons: Less development (which I love), and more people

2) Solo R&D developer. I would be a team of one, but able to interact with any team within the company. It's a freestyle position where I sort of pick my own direction and run with it, provided it's related to our company and its long-term goals.

Pros: Open-ended development on cutting-edge stuff (awesome). No managing anyone else.
Cons: Less visibility, probably less room for career advancement.

One wrench into the works is my manager really, really wants me to do the R&D position as it's his baby. He's been "asked" by upper management to see if I was interested in the tech lead position, which is what they would like me to do. I'm not giving this a lot of weight, but it's still something I'm taking under consideration.

I'm leaning towards the tech lead position currently, because of the potential for advancement trumps technical interest. I figure I can always develop on my own time…

[Asher]

Also, travel: tech lead position means I'd need to travel semi-frequently to Ottawa and Mumbai, both of which are slums.

The Solo R&D position means I would travel a couple times a year only, but to Redmond or California.

[BlackCat]

Who are you going to report to if you choose 1) ? It could be a ***** if it's your current manager.

[Asher]

Who are you going to report to if you choose 1) ? It could be a ***** if it's your current.

The organizational structure of my company is atypical. When I say "my manager", I'm referring to my "functional manager". These people are the managers which deal with corporate bureaucracy (HR, vacation time, performance reviews, resources, etc).

As a developer right now, I report to my tech lead for technical things (such as my work). But I also have a project manager, who I do not report to but has a lot of say in what kind of things I work on (in conjunction with the tech lead).

If I became tech lead, I would "report to" no one in particular. I would work with project management and product management. But my functional manager would have no role in my day to day activities. Technically, I suppose I would still "report to" my functional manager. It'd be somewhat uncomfortable as I have lunch with him pretty much daily and we're on very good terms.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Solo R&D sounds better to me, but it depends on the company, and whether you can push everyone in that environment to work with you - ie, will they listen to you when you come up with stuff and direction, or will it be an uphill battle to get supoport/your ideas accepted.

Also and on your personal side if you already have ideas on the direction you could take in this job, and will be able to push yourself and others hard enough to make it despite of whatever roadblocks there may be.

You should know your company and management best - if it has open enough managment culture and as a result, they will listen to you + support you as much as you need - you could be onto something big there with your "one man team"...

However if you get "lost" ie and you can sense no direction first 3-6 months (ie being stuck in bearuocratic setting up and/or management discussions), which may result in ignornace of the teams you want to work with, do not do it, and go with the "safe" Tech Lead option, as the roles and responsibilites are already defined there.

[Krill]

I was actually going to say Tech Lead, but R&D looks pretty awesome; if you aren't likely to get that position (because it normally doesn't exist) then why can't you do that for a few years before you move over to Tech Lead? And if R&D is what your employers want you to do, you could always point out that while you are taking it, if they wanted to second you to a Tech Lead position for a few months due to whatever reason you could do that as well, then you could probably negotiate a decent pay rise out of your skill/flexibility.

[Jon Miller]

Solo R&D

going to

Entrepreneur

JM

[Supr49er]

Personally, I went from Tech to Management of Tech people, and didn't enjoy it at all. I had to enforce stupid rules, etc. I went back to tech (after 8 unhappy years) and the bosses were unhappy with my decision. I had to leave the job eventually.

If you hate office politics, (if your company has them) consider carefully.

[Ben Kenobi]

I'd say go for the tech lead. Asher doing people management is a way for him to show off his excellent interpersonal skills to a crowd that will actually appreciate his genius. Plus, Mumbai.

[Asher]

I'd say go for the tech lead. Asher doing people management is a way for him to show off his excellent interpersonal skills to a crowd that will actually appreciate his genius. Plus, Mumbai.

Believe it or not, my leadership and interpersonal skills are what made me stand out for this role, according to my manager. I'm friendly, helpful, and outgoing in a sea of ESL introverts.

[Asher]

Solo R&D sounds better to me, but it depends on the company, and whether you can push everyone in that environment to work with you - ie, will they listen to you when you come up with stuff and direction, or will it be an uphill battle to get supoport/your ideas accepted.

Also and on your personal side if you already have ideas on the direction you could take in this job, and will be able to push yourself and others hard enough to make it despite of whatever roadblocks there may be.

You should know your company and management best - if it has open enough managment culture and as a result, they will listen to you + support you as much as you need - you could be onto something big there with your "one man team"...

However if you get "lost" ie and you can sense no direction first 3-6 months (ie being stuck in bearuocratic setting up and/or management discussions), which may result in ignornace of the teams you want to work with, do not do it, and go with the "safe" Tech Lead option, as the roles and responsibilites are already defined there.

This is what I'm concerned with -- I'm still fairly new to the company (I think it's been 9 months now?) so I don't fully know the political landscape. I have some concerns about the R&D position's longevity because they recently cut a whole bunch of "skunkworks" teams and laid them off (but they were all hardware...).

I'm not really sure how upper management functions from a high level as I've not been exposed to it yet.

I'm leaning towards tech lead now since it's a year long project, and those opportunities are few and far between. I may re-evaluate at the end of the project...

[Asher]

I was actually going to say Tech Lead, but R&D looks pretty awesome; if you aren't likely to get that position (because it normally doesn't exist) then why can't you do that for a few years before you move over to Tech Lead? And if R&D is what your employers want you to do, you could always point out that while you are taking it, if they wanted to second you to a Tech Lead position for a few months due to whatever reason you could do that as well, then you could probably negotiate a decent pay rise out of your skill/flexibility.

The problem is both jobs aren't always round. There's a handful of tech leads in the company only, the position is not usually vacant. Additionally, R&D is a fairly new program so there's no guarantee that'll always be around also.

Solo R&D

going to

Entrepreneur

JM

I think I could go Entrepreneur from both routes. If anything, tech lead would give me more management experience, no? I'd actually create problems for myself if I wanted to branch off on my own in remotely the same field doing R&D. I've signed a non-compete.

Personally, I went from Tech to Management of Tech people, and didn't enjoy it at all. I had to enforce stupid rules, etc. I went back to tech (after 8 unhappy years) and the bosses were unhappy with my decision. I had to leave the job eventually.

If you hate office politics, (if your company has them) consider carefully.

Yep, I've heard this many times as well. I hate office politics, but I'm pretty skilled at them (IMHO) so I think that may work out to my advantage, even if I hate them. Tech people can also try your patience in managing...

Another thing I should mention is how I would appear relative to others. R&D is full of PhDs, I'd be one of the few people without a grad degree of any kind. I'm worried that may make me the bottom of the totem pole there. On the other hand, tech lead is, by definition, at the top...

[OneFootInTheGrave]

if that is the case - tech lead with 100% certainty, for such "free style" positions it is very importat to have good relationship with the upper level, as otherwise even if you can make something brilliant the message will get lost in "translation"... tech lead is a well defined position, and you can only gain from it in this company, or outside (if you decide to leave in a year).

[Jon Miller]

If you have to sign a non-compete with the R&D, then I agree with the tech lead.

JM

[Krill]

The problem is both jobs aren't always round. There's a handful of tech leads in the company only, the position is not usually vacant. Additionally, R&D is a fairly new program so there's no guarantee that'll always be around also.


I think I could go Entrepreneur from both routes. If anything, tech lead would give me more management experience, no? I'd actually create problems for myself if I wanted to branch off on my own in remotely the same field doing R&D. I've signed a non-compete.


Yep, I've heard this many times as well. I hate office politics, but I'm pretty skilled at them (IMHO) so I think that may work out to my advantage, even if I hate them. Tech people can also try your patience in managing...

Another thing I should mention is how I would appear relative to others. R&D is full of PhDs, I'd be one of the few people without a grad degree of any kind. I'm worried that may make me the bottom of the totem pole there. On the other hand, tech lead is, by definition, at the top...

With that the case, Tech Lead.