Role switch - Making Career Transitions

A while ago, I switched roles from Engineering into Product Management. Every now and then, people reach out to me to ask about my journey - why and how I made the switch, what were the highs, the challenges, and any other key takeaways.

I'm sharing my insights below, which should be helpful to anyone looking to switch roles.

Why switch?

There are usually 3 motivators to switch:

1. Different / better work

This was my key motivator. For me, Product was a passion, Engineering a paycheck.

I was always interested in solving business problems, but felt that without actually learning to build good software myself, I won't be as good in making decisions and telling others what they should build. So I decided to invest some time into being a software engineer first.

Growing up, I was always a builder and liked building and tinkering with things, so in the beginning, it was a lot of fun. I got a graduate degree in Computer Science, became quite good at my job, and worked my way up the Software Engineering ladder.

But after a few years in the role, I discovered that continuing to operate at a very high level felt like hard work.

Programming to me was like using tools to build something that was predefined, like building a lego set. When I knew the tools, I could do it fast and really enjoyed it. But technology moves at the speed of light, and after a while, I found myself learning how to use new tools to solve similar puzzles that I had solved before. I found that becoming a productive engineer needed higher skill but relatively lower real world experience. And I didn't find the idea of opening a book every year to learn that new programming language or tech stack, and competing with new engineers who may have already learned it while they were still in school, particularly exciting.

Instead, I started gravitating towards my passion of entrepreneurship, where it wasn't clear what to build next. I also wanted to solve more cutting-edge problems and moving to Product Management was an avenue to do that. And lastly, Product Management has a higher bar for both skill and real-world experience which is something that I wanted to invest time in earlier in my career to be able to take advantage of later on.

I probably work more than I ever did as an engineer, but it doesn't feel harder and I enjoy and cherish every moment of it.

2. Salary expectations

Typically, total compensation increases as skill set and specialization increases, in the following sequence:

Operations -> Sales People -> Designers -> Product Managers -> Data Scientists -> Engineers

Since I moved from being an Engineer to a Product Manager, my pay and pay growth was significantly slower than if I had stayed the course.

This is a very conscious tradeoff that you will need to make, so choose wisely.

3. Growth prospects

Typical software companies have these roles and ratios:

1x Product Manager : 1x Designer : 3x Data Scientists : 4x Operations : 4x Sales People : 6x Engineers

Due to higher number of people in roles like Engineering, Operations, Data Science etc, their career levels and expectations are usually defined and mature earlier than other orgs. As a result they tend to have longer hierarchies with more levels, which can make career progression slower. There is also more competition due to the larger numbers. However, they also have more opportunities because specialized skill sets are more easily transferrable across industries - an Android programmer can easily program a FinTech or Photo sharing mobile app.

Conversely, roles like Product Managers are fewer in number and more business specific, so their career progression and expectations are typically less clearly articulated, and it's not easy to transfer across industries - a FinTech Product Manager's experience doesn't usually translate into experience for a Photo sharing app.

So while you will have less competition, there will also be fewer opportunities and it may be harder to move up in your career.

When to switch?

The good news is that there is no silver bullet here. Generally, earlier in the career is better, because one can accumulate the field experience and understand their role and the craft deeply. But here are role switches made by people I personally know, some of which as you can see, were much later in their career:

1. Machine Learning Engineer at one company -> Product Manager for a Machine Learning team at a different company
2. Data Scientist -> Product Manager
3. Product Manager -> Software Engineer (very uncommon transition)
4. Infrastructure Engineering Manager -> Lead Game Product Manager (this was me)
5. Director of Product Management -> Senior Director of Operations
6. Director / Chief of Staff (Product + Project Management) -> VP of Product Strategy (Operations)
7. VP of Operations -> SVP of Finance
8. VP of Engineering -> Chief Product Office
9. COO / CTO / CPO / CFO / CxO -> CEO (many public examples of this)

Of course the higher the level, the higher the stakes, and to establish your authority, you will need to build your credibility and earn trust faster. (You also get more leeway to make mistakes.)

But the most important thing will be your self-confidence to embrace the unknown and grit at quickly settling in and contributing to the new role (which generally becomes easier as you become more senior.)

How to switch?

Build relationships, especially upwards. I cannot stress this enough - learn the skill of being visible and likable by your peers, managers and leaders.

If there is one thing I could go back in time and teach my younger self, it would be to not consider work as a zero-sum game, but rather a team sport; to learn not only how to be a great leader, but also a great follower. Too many people over-index on how they lead others, and completely neglect how they are lead. If you're a difficult colleague / report, it will hurt you greatly in your career.

Switching roles purely based on interviews is more common when you're early in your career, as the the Engineer -> Product Manager role switch that I mentioned above happened. But as you grow in seniority, switching roles not just needs interviews but also strong referrals by people that you've already worked with before, as your new employer will need more assurances to bet on you.

Usually switching within a company is significantly easier than looking outside for both the employee and the company. It's easier for the employee, because one can build relationships much faster, explore roles, meet the team etc. It also costs the company significantly less time and money to hire people internally vs externally, and onboard and train them until they become fully productive. Internal hiring and transfers also help companies retain employees longer.

How to switch internally

The first thing to understand, as best as you can, is what you would be doing in a new role. The quickest and most fun way to learn (which I used when I switched) is to understand their current high level plan and then dive deeper.

1. DIY

1. Read their product roadmap / business updates / vision or product strategy decks.
2. Read their launch announcements to understand what they've launched recently.
3. Find and read docs for the launched features.
4. Reach out to contributors (Product Manager, Engineering Manager, Data Scientist, Operations Partner etc.) and discuss what you read.

2. Get exposed to the role indirectly

Ask your manager to be put on projects where you can work more actively with people in the role you want to switch to, and observe and learn from the output of their work firsthand.

Note: Start by asking your manager for help to make any transitions. Good managers are always looking to help their reports grow. Most role switches, in my list above, happened because people simply asked.

3. Best of all - Get exposed to the role directly as an apprentice

Ask your manager and the other team if you can shadow them for a short period of time. Have a clear plan about what you're trying to learn from the new team, and express that at the end of the month, you'd like to join them. Ask your manager if you can do this as a side-project, dedicating X% of your time for a month, or full time for 2 weeks, which is much more likely to be approved.

Company maturity

You will get more opportunities, better rank, and flexibility at companies that are smaller and at earlier stages. In more established tech companies, even internal employees have to sometimes go through an interview process for a role switch, especially when the role is posted externally and the hiring manager is considering external candidates.

I definitely recommend working for more established companies at least for a bit, because the roles in them are more well defined and will give you a firsthand experience to learn the craft by observing your peers and leaders. You will learn a lot more this way vs reading what they share externally which is heavily redacted.

Challenges

As I mentioned before, one of the most common and immediate challenges is that depending on what you're switching into, you may end up with a pay cut. You may also face a slower career progression.

Lastly, imposter syndrome is real and after some time in the new role, you may find yourself with buyer's remorse . If that happens, it's also ok to revert back.

I know people who moved from:

Project Management -> Product Management -> Project Management -> Director of Project Management, and

Senior Product Manager -> Director of Operations -> Principal Product Manager.

What would I do if I had a do over?

Since I made the switch, I have never looked back. I am extremely happy and fulfilled with where I am in my career, and love doing what I do.

If there was one thing that I would tell myself, it would be that I should've switched sooner. Life is too short to do something only for a paycheck, and trying to get one more zero in your bank account. Plus if you commit to being really good at what you do, which is very easy when you love something, your work will automatically open doors for you.

Don't wait to cross that bridge and venture into the unknown. You will be surprised with what you find on the other side!