Somehow, in our heads, we have this illusion that once you\u2019ve mastered the technical skills required for your roles and you have been senior engineers for a few years, the next step for you is to become an engineering manager.<\/p>\n
You are also known to be a good team player, you enjoy working with your fellow software engineers, and you\u2019ve heard many times that managers are people persons.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else would you possibly need to be an engineering manager,\u201d you thought to yourself.<\/p>\n
I hate to deliver this news, but the path to engineering management is not as simple as you may have hoped. In fact, it\u2019s not even a career progression.<\/p>\n
Some tech companies put senior engineers on the same level as their engineering managers for this very reason. Engineering management is a linear and alternate career track to software engineering.
\nWith that in mind, let me share with you ten signs that you\u2019re not ready to be an engineering manager just yet.<\/p>\n
Did you ever look down on those who failed to write beautiful clean code and solve complex problems with simplicity? Do you ever feel like you can\u2019t go by a day without writing some code?<\/p>\n
If there was an offsite or a team-building event where you had to be away from your computer the entire day, did you feel exhausted and unaccomplished at the end of the day?<\/p>\n
If you answered yes to one of the above questions, then you will be challenged mentally when you become an engineer manager.<\/p>\n
Because, as an engineering manager, you will spend most of your time talking to people, organizing work, planning and collaborating, instead of spending time coding and solving technical problems.<\/p>\n
You dislike doing admin tasks so much that you\u2019d rather pay someone your day rate to do an hour of admin tasks on your behalf, for example, filling in a two-page application form.<\/p>\n
By technical skills, you actually mean coding skills. If someone doesn\u2019t code, you immediately consider them non-technical.<\/p>\n
That project manager you see around the office? Well, not sure what they do around here but they aren\u2019t technical.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re a software engineer who likes to be the hero of your team or whether you\u2019re someone who is focused deeply on solving technical challenges, you think that everyone else is just like you.<\/p>\n
For example, if there is a highly visible, challenging project, as a ladder climber, you think everyone will be jumping onto it because they would want to get promoted too.<\/p>\n
You have never thought much about other disciplines such as design, product management, and marketing.
\nWho are the creators, makers, and innovators? You immediately answer: \u201cSoftware engineers. Other disciplines exist so they can support software engineers,\u201d you say.<\/p>\n
Enough said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are too many meetings,\u201d is one of the complaints that you frequently make.
\n1:1s, estimation meetings, planning meetings, all-hands, and even standups are a waste of time, if you are completely being honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t it what flexible work is all about?\u201d you say.<\/p>\n
You have even set your working hours to be 10:30am to 6:30pm on your calendar. The last time you got up before 10am was back in university for your exam. You\u2019re glad those days are over.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrite good code and it will speak for itself,\u201d you say to yourself.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing you dislike more than writing status updates about the project you\u2019re working on or doing a presentation on what you and your team have built.<\/p>\n
You prefer harmony and you\u2019d rather keep your mouth shut and mind your own business than to point out a mistake that could put your project off-track.<\/p>\n
When asked to give feedback about your team member, you keep it short and sweet, literally.<\/p>\n