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September 20, 2005
The Path to the Dark Side
I've never really had aspirations of joining management. Always been happy as an individual contributor - let's me solve interesting problems, and mock management from the safety of my living room chair.
So I have little doubt that right now the universe is thumbing it's nose at me.
As of the beginning of October, I'll have a team of 5 senior-level engineers reporting to me. I'm resisting the suggestion from HR to change my title (currently "Principal Engineer") to "Director of Software Development;" it seems like a one-way door. Once you've jumped into the management pool with both feet, climbing out feels tricky.
The person currently in that role is taking three of his eight current engineers and going to work on something of a "critical-path skunkworks;" after much cajoling and convincing, I agreed to "step up," as they say.
I guess the good news is that I trust the guy I work for (the General Manager of Platform Development), and the guy he works for (the CTO). I just wish I had a bit more faith in the overall cluefulness of the organization.
The bad news is that I'm inheriting something of a mess, and I'm following a guy who's not only very sharp technically, but has the unusual skill of being able to both manage a team and directly contribute to the final work-product, something I've never figured out how to do with great efficiency.
Oh, and just to make sure things aren't easy, there are many more projects - many of them legacy code - that the team will own than there are people on the team. So it's pretty easy to see that if too many projects need attention at the same time we are, as they say, screwed.
I'm trying to look at the whole thing from an academic perspective - it's a chance to learn a new skill-set, under trusted mentorship, and with a group of guys who I know won't roast me alive for the inevitable missteps along the way.
Interesting times indeed...
Posted by dberger at September 20, 2005 9:51 AM
Comments
Having crossed that boundary, let me say... Welcome aboard!
And your title doesn't mean much. They tattoo the "Management" badge on you when you're asleep. They use special ink so everyone can see it except you. :)
Congrats - it's a big step and well deserved.
Posted by: Scott Snyder at September 20, 2005 12:25 PM
Dan, I am SO VERY PROUD of you.... We always have been tho, but now even MORE SO !
Not much more I can say.... You're the TOPS ;- )
We Love you & Miss you "BOTH"
Carol & Jim Dopek
Posted by: Carol Dopek - Mom at September 20, 2005 3:28 PM
A big congrats, indeed. =)
And yes, it is a one way door. Complete with special HR training and everything. Good fun.
Posted by: Steve S. at September 27, 2005 11:06 PM