The conventional metaphor for career success is a ladder: you start as a humble individual contributor and gradually climb the rungs until you’re managing a team of junior folks gripping the rungs below you. There’s only one trajectory (up!) and no detours.
There are a lot of problems with this narrative, but one of them is that not everyone finds themselves happier or more satisfied in a role that makes them directly responsible for others’ success and productivity.
Some people who become managers or even find themselves in the C-suite realize that something’s not clicking. It might be the stress of managing others’ performance, the recognition that being a manager requires a wholly distinct skillset from being an engineer, or simply more time spent in meetings and less on the kinds of projects that most interest them.
More people in tech are making the manager-to-IC shift, largely because they think it will make them happier at work. People “now rank feeling energized and having a sense of purpose as more important than compensation when it comes to professional happiness,” according to the Harvard Business Review.
Mitchell Hashimoto, cofounder of HashiCorp, was on our podcast last year to talk about his experience returning to an IC role after serving as founder-CEO and CTO. Our former director of product design, Kristina Lustig, traded her management role for one as an IC software developer. Based on our conversations with them and some other folks who’ve moved from manager to IC, here are some things to keep in mind if you’re considering a similar move.
As she wrote on our blog, Stack Overflow’s own Kristina Lustig went from running the product design team as director of design to working as a software engineer on our public platform.
Despite an early interest in math and computer science, Kristina ended up pursuing a career in UX. Being surrounded by some of the world’s best developers, first at Facebook (now Meta) and then at Stack Overflow, encouraged Kristina to keep coding firmly in the “hobby” category, rather than giving it serious consideration as a career path. “I genuinely think that my problem, for years, has been confidence,” she said. “I was just a UX person, not a coder.” Finally, she told her manager she would be leaving Stack Overflow to pursue her dream of becoming a developer. Her manager’s answer surprised her: Why not do that here?
Kristina’s manager put together a series of projects designed to build her skills in back-end development. “We used Flask as the basis for my projects, as the barrier to entry is low and I already felt pretty confident with Python,” she explained.
After that, it was time for Kristina to wade into .NET and the Stack Overflow codebase. “The hardest part for me has been working on code that lots of other people have worked on,” she reflected. “With my own personal projects, I knew why each line of code was there… With a codebase so large that I’ll never actually read all of it, I had to start exercising a whole new set of skills I didn’t know I’d need.”
You don’t need us to tell you to think carefully before making a major career change. But asking yourself the right questions, reflecting on what’s really motivating you to make a change, and having a clear plan for managing and communicating the pivot can go a long way toward ensuring its success.
Clarify why you want to make a change
If you, like this manager-turned-product designer, suddenly find yourself feeling drained and lukewarm in a job you love, it’s a sign that something needs to change. The trick is understanding what.
Ask yourself why you want to change careers. If you’re dissatisfied with your current role or feel burnt out, a transfer from your manager to her IC may or may not solve the problem. Do you wish you had more time to work on hands-on projects? Do you feel anxious about monitoring the performance of others? Feelings like, “I don’t want to be an engineer” are a sign of a bigger question that you need to answer for yourself.
Don’t assume the move will tank your career or incur judgment from your colleagues
Many people shy away from career changes that could be seen as a demotion for fear of being judged. They are afraid of being seen as unfit to be managers. But as more people work similar shifts or meet colleagues who do, there’s reason to think this passive income stigma may be beginning to fade.
“The stigma of ‘going back to an IC role’ does not exist,” wrote one former HR manager who returned to an IC role in product design. In his experience, his colleagues were understanding and happy for him.
Being an IC is not necessarily synonymous with demotion. harvard business review Article “You can stop being a manager without sinking your career”: “Most organizations have examples of mid-level and senior people who don’t manage others. Even if you don’t have one, it’s worth suggesting a formal role or title that reflects the value you bring to the company.”
According to Philip Hsu, former CEO of Audere and someone who transitioned from manager to IC several times during his career, even if the transition from manager to IC was met with some awkwardness, However, some may find the move to be “extremely valuable,” he said. .
Communicate with your manager
It may seem counterintuitive, but your current manager may be the perfect ally to help you plan and navigate whatever career change you’re considering. Designer-turned-developer Christina was encouraged by her manager to pursue a new career at Stack Overflow, and she advises anyone who wants to make a difference in the workplace to be bold.
“Don’t underestimate how much the job wants to keep you, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you want,” she said. “I used to say to members of the design team, “The worst thing that can happen when you ask someone to do something is that they’re going to say no, and they might laugh at you.” I can’t do it.”
While more people are moving freely between manager and IC roles, this dynamic “is still not the norm in the tech industry,” writes LeadDev’s Gemma Barlow. It is my belief that encouraging a commitment to lifelong learning and development, and truly respecting the unique challenges of each position, will only create a healthier workplace. For managers considering a return to individual contribution, like most other endeavors, with enough time, patience, and planning, this can be an extremely valuable switch. Please rest assured. ”
Allowing employees to change careers also benefits organizations. For example, a manager turned IC is often better at seeing the big picture than a colleague without management experience. Mr. Hsu, a former CEO who has made several transitions from manager to IC, pointed out that it is in the company’s interest to encourage employees who want a career change to do so. “Better support from companies is a key factor in retention, happiness and performance,” he said.
To learn more about how to successfully pivot your career, check out this article on Indeed.
