Ask HN: PM, TPM, or Tech Lead – Go
Not sure which one is the best option for my future...
Did you struggle with this (or similar) decision? Do you have a framework for deciding? Please share.
Did you struggle with this (or similar) decision? Do you have a framework for deciding? Please share.
I've been all kinds of things. Tech Lead, Lead Engineer, Principal Engineer, Engineering Manager are probably most relevant to this conversation. In general I steer clear of "Management", which I define as things like report compensation and happiness, disciplinary actions, performance reviews, etc. As for more "Leadership" type roles (Tech Lead, Lead Eng, Principal), it really depends on the company as to how much autonomy and authority they have. Some companies view Lead as "Person that knows the most on the team", others view them as "The person that does architecture work", some view them as pseudo-managers. It can suck or it can be okay, but it really really depends on the company.
If you want to stay technical, avoid the PM route entirely, regardless of what you actually meant by PM/TPM. Deciding whether you want to stay technical is probably the first question to answer for yourself to figure out your path.