How to advance a technical career without going into management
Most senior technical paths force engineers into management roles and organizational politics once they reach a certain level. This leaves professionals with no viable progression unless they take on people management, which many are unsuited for and leads them to clash with management or stall in their careers.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1pivoting into cyber security on the technical sideDid this help you?
- 2transitioning to sales or consultingDid this help you?
- 3moving into architectural reviews and regulatory workDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“As I've gotten more senior, my manager has tried giving me more manglement-type work. It has gone terribly.”source ↗
“I'm usually the guy repeatedly pointing at the obsolete box directly in the path of shipping product, until eventually I'm the "nagging" technical guy with a "behavior problem."”source ↗
“In my twenty year career, I have never seen any progression past sysadmin that didn’t involve management.”source ↗
“Preach! I’m in the current boat with you.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How do I keep my technical skills sharp while in management?
- 14How to transition from technical work to management with no background
- 2What happens when you go months without a manager?
- 13How to handle HR and finance without any specialist support
- 5How do I deal with non-technical managers and constant interruptions?
- 3Transitioning to a solo manager role with no support team