Engineering Management: Is it Right for You?
Engineering management is a high-influential role within any organization. It involves key decision-making, team management, project coordination, and setting strategic direction. But, is it suited to everyone? Do the skills required for engineering translate well into management roles? Let's unpick these questions and more in this insightful discussion.
About the Speaker
Marissa Moino, a senior engineering manager at Tax Fix with over five years of experience in various management roles, is here to guide you through her journey. She loves making things, from engineering sophisticated software solutions to crafting handmade items, such as the shirt she's wearing today. Being a proud cat owner, she always enjoys sharing tidbits about her furry friends. However, today she talks about a more professional transition she undertook – from a software engineer to an engineering manager.
A Change in Roles
Marissa underscores that the transition to becoming a manager is indeed a change. It will not be the same as being a software engineer, requiring a completely new set of skills. Often, technically proficient contributors are bumped into managerial positions only to realize they lack certain crucial skills necessary for successful management.
Learning New Skills
A quick snapshot of some skills Marissa needed to cultivate upon becoming a manager included mastering effective one-on-ones, understanding budgeting, performance evaluation, giving constructive feedback, career coaching, and people management strategies. Interestingly, she learned skills such as contract negotiation and the art of making job offers to potential hires—tasks that no one precisely informed her about while transitioning to this management role.
Furthermore, the way her time was divided also shifted significantly. Understandably, being an engineering manager now meant building and debugging software teams instead of just the software itself.
Management Stress Factors: Flip Side of the Coin
Moving to a management role comes with its stress factors, inherently different from what she experienced as a software engineer. The pressure to make a difference for the team, handling tough decisions, increased accountability for urgent issues, and the obligation to support challenging decisions are a few of these stresses Marissa dealt with when transitioning into management. Yet, she still found the role rewarding, fulfilling, and challenging in its unique way.
Benefits and Rewards of being a Manager
Marissa mentions her pride and joy in her role as a manager. She loves her team, and she enjoys going to work each day because of them. She also has more control over workplace decisions that impact her team, giving her more autonomy, and the thrill of making decisions beneficial for the team and the company. She also appreciates more autonomy in setting priorities.
Evaluating Motivations
An essential step for anyone contemplating a management role is understanding your intrinsic motivations. Deducing what tasks excite and reward you can help in evaluating whether a management role may suit you. If they are heavily managerial tasks, like career progression planning, recruitment, and team culture building, a move to management may be fitting.
Wrapping Up
In summary, the transition from a software engineer to an engineering management role is a significant shift that requires a different set of skills and higher levels of responsibility. At the same time, it provides a unique sense of achievement and satisfaction. So, if you're weighing up if it's the right move for you, consider what tasks you are naturally drawn to and excited by. Talk to other professionals in the field, do your research, and ultimately don't be afraid to dive in and learn along the way. After all, as Marissa says, "I don't know, is OK."
If you're in need of further guidance, feel free to reach out to Marissa, who is more than happy to share her experiences and help you navigate your career path.