Career Progression in Software Engineering - For Passionate Coders

In February 2018 software engineers began answering 2 questions from me. Fast forward to July 2018 and more than 700 people have contributed to this mini-research project, yielding some interesting learning points.

The questions I asked those 700+ people were:

• What do you want more in the future; team leadership & management, or to continue coding?
• Why do so many engineers want progression into team management instead of continuing to code? Is it just about the money?

Most of those engineers wanted to progress into leadership duties. But did you think about this point:

A developer who wants to remain coding, to become a true master of their software engineering abilities is the minority - and that makes them more valuable to a lot of employers.

There's a few reasons why from a business perspective:

• You possess none of the "career progression baggage" that business owners need to satisfy. You cause less headaches, requiring less time as a result.
• Highly skilled engineers are REALLY hard to find. PHP engineering for example, has a low skill level entry point. The community of PHP engineers are clouded with 'medium' talent, making the most highly skilled very difficult to find and hire.
• Being a programming enthusiast, you will have a natural emotional advantage over your 'aspiring leader' colleagues. You will naturally seek out better practices, solutions, methods and probably value the quality of your work more. Resulting in a better product or service for the business.
• A highly skilled programmers brain has pivotal influence on application maintainability, scalability and performance. Doing those 3 things very well is money saved.

So what can you conclude from this?

If you are a programming enthusiast with no desire for a career path in leadership the power is in your hands. You have the opportunity to influence project direction and the ways of working.

Your working environment should be moulded to keep you fulfilled, and if you are not fulfilled at your current employer you can easily move to somewhere else. 10 years ago, the employers had the power - not today.

There are some companies who won't see the value in you, and it's not your duty to change them. Instead, go and find a tech-driven employer who do see the value your passion for elite programming knowledge because they will supplement your career, education and help you find a greater sense of fulfilment.

A message to the young generation of engineers

You hold no less valuable or importance than your senior managers. You are equals. The difference between you and your managers is not your importance, simply your responsibilities and tasks.

A path to management is not the only path your career can take. Becoming a master programmer is a viable and sensible career plan. If coding is your passion, find a company offering these things and you may never feel the lure of leadership:

• Investment in your learning and personal development will contribute to your goal of coding mastery
• An environment that allows for innovation and the introduction of new technologies will future-proof your tech skills. Supplementing your learning too
• An employer with technology at their heart - this

To be continued...