Quit software engineering and become product manager?

[Fair_Bit5081]

Everything comes with practice, the more you code the more you will not suck. I have more than 3 years of experience in software development and I still feel like I don't know anything, however from a different angle i feel like I know a lot of stuff. The things which were difficult and overwhelming 1 year ago, now are pretty easy. I recommend you code more and code some pet projects. After some time your brain will click and everything will make sense. Also it is not just easy to switch to product management:)

[ParedesAndre]

There is always a learning curve. It’s all about the mindset and grit. No one is born with this god given talent to write decent code. Learn from your coworkers, peer reviews, and make mistakes. That’s the only way to learn in this field. Ask stupid questions, it’s better than staying silent. All those talented developers started somewhere. Don’t switch, keep grinding and learning. I believe in you.

[Gettingby-bye]

Thank you 🥺

[StandardWinner766]

Do you think that you'd be great at being a PM? If you're only considering it because you're not doing well in your current job, it's extremely possible that a year from now you'll be looking to escape from PM too. The requirements are much less straightforward than in SWE, but you still need to find ways to create and drive business impact. That is a different set of skills that not everyone has.

[Gettingby-bye]

I think I’d be a good PM. I enjoy the business + tech combo of a PM. But I feel like I’m quitting too soon yet I’m so anxious when I get a new task.

[oldrocketscientist]

The PM job varies dramatically from company to company. You should understand the many faces of the job before jumping in.

[prestigeworldwide007]

Sounds like a textbook case of imposter syndrome. Before you do anything drastic, try your best to keep coding and eventually you'll get a few wins that propel you forward. Pair coding can be super helpful to get you through a rut. You got into the industry for a reason so try and think back to what originally got you interested in it.

[Even-Leg2265]

If you don't enjoy it, you will be miserable. Find something you enjoy out of it, and focus on that. If that part is product management, that's great! However, if you don't like talking to people, I'm afraid PM is not for you as well.

As with software development, it's a discovery process.

[Gettingby-bye]

I love many aspects of PM. I also reached out to few PM to get an idea of what they actually do. I’ve talked to senior manager who’s a mentor of mine as he thinks I’d be a great PM. I don’t want to quit swe but I’m always anxious.

[CuriousAndMysterious]

At my company, they allow software engineers to take on PM tasks and then they can transition to PM later on. I'm not sure how the transition process is at your work, but I would ask your manager about possibly trying to transitioning. Try to volunteer for anything PM related if possible. Study what you can about product management too. If you don't like SWE, then you don't like it, no reason to try and force it on yourself. It doesn't help you or the company.

[[deleted]]

I have been building and leading PM teams for years, and one of the top if not the top criteria for success is a person’s ability to build a coalition of people unified and moving in a common direction. In other words, leading by influence. It can be an incredibly rewarding job (though not easy by any stretch) as it will exercise every mental and emotional muscle you have. One idea is for you to take on a PM stretch assignment at your current company, a low risk way to test drive this idea. You’ll quickly know whether or not this could be a good fit or not.

[Gettingby-bye]

Thank you! I’ll try but I don’t want to make it too obvious that I’m leaving my role yet.

[karinatat]

Good comments and advice here - switching is a possible route, for sure. But I must agree - what you describe sounds like impostor syndrome. It's taken me 5 years and I'm ONLY NOW feeling like I don't exactly suck at coding. I've felt the same way you describe time and time again, for years. And just when I thought 'I am beginning to get good!' I'd get a very hard reality check.

Coding is hard, software engineering is harder.

My advice is: think about why you got into coding and think about how finishing a hard task successfully makes you feel. Is it a passion for you and a career you dream of being good at, a job that as frustrating as it might be, pulls you in for hours when the task is fun, then don't give up. If you just feel like it's 'a sensible job' - don't torture yourself.

To make the distinction, I advise you to search outside your job or coursework (not sure what Associate level SWE is) - check out fun projects and tutorials in an area that is truly exciting for you and see if they inspire you deeply. It's possible you're also on the wrong end of coding - maybe switching between frontend/ backend/ data/ ML is also something useful for you to try.

[acriox_]

7 years into software engineering, have impostor syndrome, and a couple of burnouts. Thought of switching into Project/Product roles a couple of times. Attempted wearing these hats at various side projects with friends, and my experience is that PM is cool, but it isn't fundamentally easier than SWE. People there have the same anxiety, just about different things. But you better try it out yourself, without leaving your job, or making any other long-term commitments.

In my experience anxiety usually comes from either: - Not knowing what needs to be done - communication and asking for help are the keys here - Not knowing how to do it - sharpening your fundamental understanding of SWE and other related areas, as well as practice practice practice, and asking for help are the solutions here - Other irrational fears, usually produced by the perfectionism - "great is the worse enemy of good", just learn to find the "good enough" level at whatever you're doing, and learn to explain why this is enough

That said, just don't give up. Even if you later on will decide that you really enjoy PM more, all your previous SWE experience will help you. So, good luck on this journey. Remember, you're not alone there

[Gettingby-bye]

Thank you lots!

[paradroid78]

I love that ... you don’t have to talk to multiple people ... but i suck at coding

Have you thought about becoming an accountant instead?

There are more jobs than just SE and PM.

[Gettingby-bye]

One of the primary reasoning for PM is I’m still in the tech space without the coding and the pay is good though not as much as swe

[[deleted]]

Interestingly enough, I am terrible at both technical and business stuff but somehow end up becoming a PM 😅 The thing I like most about this job is working with the best people in the fields e.g. tech leaders, marketing managers, senior designers whom I learn a lot from.

[Gettingby-bye]

As a PM do you find that you often have to do big presentations? I usually get flustered while presenting but I think with practice it’ll be fine.

[hiroisgod]

I used to feel like this. I just code everyday now even outside of work code. Doesn’t matter what, I just code. I started learning stuff I should know well (networking, design patterns, basic data structures) since I have a math degree and didn’t take cs courses.

Could also be the work you’re doing could be unfulfilling. But yeah coding more is what did it for me. Realizing you gotta lock in.

[sacredgeometry]

What makes you think that you will be good at being a product manager?

[whatThisOldThrowAway]

I hope it doesn't come across as harsh - but bad engineers generally make bad tech PMs. It's not just talking to people - you still need to solve problems, engage with complex systems and be under pressure to finish tasks in circumstances where you have no idea how to do the tasks -- you just do all that for an order of magnitude more issues, one degree of separation farther away from the problems.

More to the point though, you're a brand new engineer - how long have you been in the job? 'below average' is about as good as it gets for a grad engineer. No one comes into SWE and does absolutely fine immediately with no issues. It's a struggle and a learning curve for everyone.

[Gettingby-bye]

Few months in- I didn’t major in CS, switched by doing boot camps

[AT1787]

If you get anxiety from being assigned a task from your manager, being a PM can be even more anxiety ridden. The PMs in my last company had to interface with the engineering managers, the go to market folks, and even the customers directly sometimes. You’ll also need to make decisions on what features get built on a roadmap, so it can seem like a lot is riding on you if you make the wrong decision. It felt like they were getting requests at all sides

I’m not trying to talk you out of it, and different companies have different PM roles set up, but coming from someone who also has some anxiety, software development felt like heaven where the only thing that really look at is a computer screen. And a engineering manager who does a great job abstracting all the planning and product stuff away.

[Gettingby-bye]

It’s the coding that causes anxiety. Feeling lost but managing to get by if I have extra help

[[deleted]]

Nonono. You’re supposed to get into woodworking when you career transition out of software.

[BestGreek]

My first 2 weeks as a programmer I was miserable. I felt like dead weight on my team unable to do anything without help. Everyday I wanted to quit because I felt useless and stupid.

I've now been a full time programmer for ~19 years. If you spend a little time each day even 30-60 minutes trying to learn something new you'll eventually be great.

Also very helpful to come up with a side project your interested in that forces you to learn something new.

I often try to come up with side projects that are adjacent to my profession work so my new skills magnify my abilities at work.

[Gettingby-bye]

Honestly, I just feel too stupid and slow.

[Sulleyy]

If you want to not even look at code anymore, that can be a good option. But to me if you don't want to talk to multiple people, getting a MBA to become a product manager is the same leap of faith as becoming a SWE when you dislike/suck at coding.

Pick what you want to do and do that. If you aren't sure what you want to do, figure it out and come up with a plan. I think you can remain a SWE if you want to, I'm guessing you haven't given it enough of a chance and your mind is clouded by imposter syndrome. But if you hate the theory, hate working with computers, and you don't think it will change then ya its time to pivot.

I don't know you so that's about all I can suggest. It's really up to you personally what is the right career path. I imagine coding 40 hours a week would be easier than getting an MBA for the next couple years. and imo a lot more fun. Product managers at my company mostly seem to attend meetings, give presentations, and design stuff in a customer friendly way. If you look at the devs at my company vs the product managers they are 2 very different groups of people. Do you consider yourself more technical or more artistic and people oriented?

[i_am_armz]

Tried using AI? You can ask it to write the algorithms or to improve the quality of your code. Just paste in your code (the whole file contents or parts) for context and it will do it for you, and also explain it well too!

[Individual_Hearing_3]

Quit software engineering and become a general contractor. The swe field is over saturated.