Software Engineering Management: Most developers will get to a point in their career where they need to face a decision regarding whether they should continue along the same career path, work towards becoming a CTO or architect, or take a slightly different route to become a software engineering manager. Both of these options can lead to massive opportunities and excellent careers over time, so there’s no choice that is better than the other. It’s all down to personal preference and choosing the one that is going to be the best option for you will require a lot of consideration and carefully weighing up the pros and cons to determine which one has the best outlook for you and which one you’re going to prefer. Some of the main reasons why software engineering managers decide to get into this role include:
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Competition:
If you are a naturally competitive type of person and enjoy always having something new to work towards, software engineering management could be the ideal career choice for you. In this role, there is often a lot of competition with other software development companies; you may often be competing with top companies in the field, and closing a sought-after candidate can definitely lead to a great feeling of winning. If you’re good at your job, winning is just part of the role as a software engineering manager.
Stay Close to Technology:
If you enjoy learning about new technologies and determining the best ways to apply them to collaborate with others and get better results, a role as a software engineering manager could be the ideal choice of career for you. While this role might require you to take a step back from the production front line, you will need to partner with lead developers and engineers to make sure that your team is using the right tech for their needs,so the best results are achieved.
Work Towards Big Goals:
While working as a software developer is the ideal career choice for somebody who wants to stay hands-on with technology, solve complex problems, personal area network and deliver results as part of a strong team, developers who are more passionate or skilled with other parts of the business aside from just the technology might find that a software engineering manager role is a better choice for them. Many software engineering managers will choose this role because they enjoy the thrill of achieving huge goals as part of a team.
Take on Bigger Responsibilities:
You will be required to take on more responsibilities when working in the role of a software engineering manager. If you are interested more about learning the business side of this role and want to get involved in work where you can hire new employees, manage teams, make sure that products are delivered to customers on time, and contribute to key business decisions, a career in software engineering management might be the right option for you. In the role of a software engineering manager, you will need to ensure that all products are developed quickly and to the standards that clients and stakeholders expect.
Help Others:
In the role of a software engineering manager, you will also be able to help others more than you might realize. In this role, you might find yourself mentoring others or offering advice to new and even more existing developers when it comes to the next direction to take their career. With your knowledge and experience, you can work in a role where you offer a lot of support to others.
Skills You Need For This Role:
If you want to break out of the strictly-tech industry as a developer and move into a role that is more people-centered such as software engineering management, you will need to demonstrate a certain skill-set. As you work in this role, you will develop certain skills even further. Some of the main skills needed to work in this position include:
● Tech Skills:
Software engineering managers must ensure that they are consistently keeping their knowledge of technology and software programs up to date. You may need to learn new coding languages and make sure that your knowledge of the frameworks, technologies, cloud services, and methodologies that your company uses is always current. Knowing which of these to apply in a wide range of situations is a key quality for software engineering managers to have.
● Organizational Skills:
The ability to stay organized and plan ahead is essential in the role of a software engineering manager. You will need to have a clear understanding of the scope and requirements of the projects that you are working on, including being able to prioritize the most important tasks, set realistic and workable deadlines, and maintain a high level of performance for the team to release a quality product in the timeframe that it is expected. Software engineering managers should also have a strong attention to detail, particularly when it comes to finding problems with code and repairing them.
● Management Skills:
With an online masters in software engineering from Baylor University, you will be able to take what you have learned so far as a developer and use it to improve your management and people skills. Good management skills are essential when working in this role, especially as the role of a software engineering manager will also typically involve working with people a lot more compared to the role of a developer. Agile management skills are a desirable skill to develop with more than half of organizations now using Agile practices. Because of this, Agile management skills are becoming more and more highly sought-after by companies that hire software engineering managers. And, even if you go on to do a different role than software engineering management, developing Agile management can help you succeed in a large range of future potential roles including systems engineering and others.
If you are currently a developer but are interested in moving up into a role that allows you to work with people more often, take control of projects and take on more responsibilities, software engineering management could be an ideal field for you.
