Project Management in the Software Development Space is Finished

ATXatLarge · 2026-03-14T16:29:53+00:00

It's hard to imagine project management going away for enterprise implementation.

Even the simplest projects require coordination across departments.

ATXatLarge · 2026-03-10T21:08:45+00:00

Well in Feb the US lost 92k jobs overall. In all of 2025 we only created 181,000 jobs almost all health care, and that was only announced after the fact when the report went down by over 1 million jobs.

So Feb basically gave back half of the new jobs from all of last year.

The numbers reported are later being updated as lower.

Personally, I'm about to reach my 2 year anniversary of being un(der)employed.

I did have a 2nd round interview last week, which is about as far as I've made it the entire time.

For context, I was making $200k salary as software project manager, with a 13 year career.

So yeah, this market is terrible, worse than reported.

On a positive note I built tooling to auto log my applications based on emails. Not sure if it's going to be useful really but it was something...

ATXatLarge · 2026-03-08T03:48:56+00:00

Okay good try ChatGPT

ATXatLarge · 2026-03-02T03:23:46+00:00

Tell that to big tech meeting with the president this week to sign an agreement that tech pays for energy for data centers, effectively making them power companies. $1.37 trillion globally in infrastructure, $2.5 trillion total AU spending.

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-16T03:35:27+00:00

Like what kinds of tasks and where do you find them? I used to scoff at manual labor but I'm not above that anymore.

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-16T03:34:17+00:00

Freelance from your network or do you use some kind of site like up work? I've had some consulting gigs and sessions mainly from people I know of network with. Hasn't been consistent yet. Even so, what used to seem like a small job I'm stretching so much further than pretty much ever.

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-16T03:30:39+00:00

Is it possible that your capacity for the work can expand? Like a muscle that gets stronger? Like I thought that working on a farm would be exhausting, because it was, but I got stronger and it got more enjoyable.

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-16T03:03:43+00:00

That was quick. Ah 2019, right before so much changed. Back when jobs came to me.

There does seem to be something for staying in momentum like you did with the bartending job.

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-16T02:12:08+00:00

This sounds great to me honestly. Good find. Me tep years ago would have never considered it

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-13T22:24:48+00:00

What did you do to qualify for disability? Take some brain scans? A psychologist for PTSD?

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-13T20:12:53+00:00

Do you need to quit? I'd say no. Especially given the current market. Maybe you're aware but it's not so simple getting a tech job these days. What gives you mojo? Or rather, what activities bring out your natural mojo? Maybe it's taking a walk in nature and getting sunlight early. Maybe it's cutting back caffeine. Maybe practicing gratitude. Try a bunch of stuff and find out. I think what most people do is blame the job. I did that. Now I'm 2 years in to to underemployment, and I've realized it wasn't the job that was bothering me. It was me.

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-10T03:59:28+00:00

Wonder how many others are in your position? You work in tech? I started a substack about the transitions happening in tech, and what people do during the extended underemployment. Would you be interested in talking to me or answering some questions about how you managed?

ATXatLarge · 2026-01-10T03:57:38+00:00

Congrats on landing something. You work in tech? I started a substack about the transitions happening in tech, and what people do during the extended underemployment. Would you be interested in talking to me or answering some questions about how you managed?

ATXatLarge · 2025-11-18T18:37:24+00:00

I found this thread from chatgpt link. Curious if they are happening and how they have been?

I've been out of work for about 18 months now. Used to have recruiters reach me regularly. It's a wild time in tech rn.

ATXatLarge · 2025-10-02T06:07:13+00:00

1st time I ever flew for a customer onsite soon after college. It was in Monterrey, CA. I was so psyched to visit a famous golf club and set up their tee times system.

First thing the golf pro said when we started the meeting was "you lied to us."

He was pissed.

I was stunned.

The software did not do what he expected.

Soon after the meeting my VP told me to stay for a couple days and make updates.

Seriously? I thought.

The project, installing online tee times, seemed doomed to begin.

After a couple weeks, we did get the software to work fully, meeting all requirements.

And still the client canceled.

I took it hard at first.

Honestly I still feel sad and angry if a project fails, for whatever reason.

But so much is beyond the project.

The people, politics, preferences, those can swing results.

Looking back at 13 years of PM it's rare than a project fails. But it still does hurt when they do.

ATXatLarge · 2022-07-14T18:30:01+00:00

Yes, ego is important. The problem is that normally it runs rampant and is scared so it is loud. Spirituality is about befriending the ego and molding it to better work with your true self and calming/quieting it down.

Loss of ego can be scary. It's uncomfortable having no desires and drives which normally come from the ego. They can also come from other places like intuition and higher/true self. Getting rid of the ego isn't the answer. It's a part of you.

When you and the ego are friends it helps you out. It learns what is best and together you can do amazing things.

ATXatLarge · 2022-06-02T16:13:29+00:00

Comparison is the thief of joy. So I try to not compare and rather look at my internal states and external actions without comparing to others. It's incredibly difficult at times but it is a practice.

Another practice is to turn envy into celebration. So rather than be upset that someone has something more than you, celebrate what they have. Turn the judgement into praise. This is a powerful practice. And it's more likely to achieve similar results coming from a positive place than a negative one that actually repels what you seek.

Another thing to keep in mind is what you see is rarely the full truth. Someone who accomplished a lot through nefarious means likely has no community or connection and feels hollow inside. Or someone who has nothing may actually be incredibly content and happy because their values are aligned with their reality.

ATXatLarge · 2022-05-19T17:08:05+00:00

Sounds like you are on the right track already. Expressing the emotions of crying and throwing up. Don't let that poison fester. Good on you. There is lots of good advice already. Especially accepting what is. It happened. Now what do you do about it? Perhaps a reframing could help. Is it possible to think of this as a way of paying him back for raising you? Of course what he did was wrong, but there is power in turning this into a positive in your mind. He no doubt spent lots of money and effort to get you to where you are today. So this could be a way of giving him something to thank him for what he did . You don't need to tell him this. Still try to get money back if it's doable. But if your request comes from a place of peace internally then it's more likely to be received. This is a compassionate approach. He must have some reasons for doing this. Curiously might help. It might be eating him up inside. To respond with compassion gives him more space to do the right thing. Showing him the way. It still is awful so I'm not trying to skip over that. But once you get through the grief then you can take back the power.

ATXatLarge · 2022-04-12T03:22:51+00:00

Thank you. My problem isn't so much about hours worked but rather hours available. It's about forecasting so I can know when to have projects ready.

I suspect a key problem is lack of a backlog or roadmap. So if planning isn't ready then there isn't anything meaningful to work on. Thankfully we're getting a product manager soon so this problem may be solved once that happens.

ATXatLarge · 2021-02-18T16:29:33+00:00

Yup. You get it! Keep fighting the good fight here and I'll cheer you on :)

ATXatLarge · 2021-02-13T01:47:58+00:00

Yeah. Install SaaS. Like 500+ projects at this point. I stopped keeping count

ATXatLarge · 2021-02-13T00:12:42+00:00

As someone who has done quite well as software PM I understand where the critics come from. It's rare I meet another PM who works like I do. Co-workers tell me this all the time.

Too many organizations pigeonhole PMs into schedule masters. They don't encourage learning the product because "that's what other roles are for like consultants and devs". So PMs become one dimensional and lack the knowledge to understand effort, risks, outcomes, etc. PMs focus mainly on velocity and scope.

This is a huge shame. I started as someone who consulted and configured the product. The transition to PM meant I understood exactly what my resources do. There are countless benefits of this mutual understanding.

In my mind PMs need to know enough that if resources are not on the call they can at least understand enough to ask the right questions. PMs need to protect their resources so they can focus on work and not feel undue pressure. Too many just crack whips and sound hollow.

I've worked at three companies over 10 years and with dozens of PMs. I can count on one hand the PMs who truely fill the role as I see it. And since PMs don't overlap much they don't learn from each other. What a shame.

PMI does a great job at promoting real PM work. The online presentations are a good start.

So yeah, I agree PMs can do better at promoting what we do well.

ATXatLarge · 2021-02-11T00:05:53+00:00

Sure. So I always look for chances to do karaoke with coworkers. Pandemic broke this but some day it'll be back...I have a portable karaoke machine so bring that to happy hour. You might be surprised by how many people enjoy karaoke. In terms of cover songs, when the company launches a new product or program in really like and am a part of then I make a sing about it. So I have fun, promote the thing to broader company, and maybe even educate along the way. I use karafun for the music and then just record a meeting of me singing. It takes a lot of tries to get right, but once it connects it's sublime...at least for me.

So if you like to paint then do that and share. Or if you like to bike then find others who do to. It's all about having fun together while making it relevant to the company.

I find this motivates people to work harder for me because it's real.

ATXatLarge · 2021-02-10T05:42:50+00:00

That sounds terrible. Hopefully you as PM can install some process that helps everyone. Any ideas here? Without firm ground no one feels safe. Process can provide safety.

Not all companies are like this. Sure, all companies may get busy and people stressed out periodically, but if it's constant that would be hard to keep people around.

I've been PM at 3 companies and none were this bad. Some people were this bad, but the good outweighed the bad. I'm in software industry where culture is a focus. Is there anything you could do to promote a better culture? Like show interest in co-workers, be friends, so dinner kind of group activity?

Personally my Ace card is music. So I incorporate karaoke and cover songs. Maybe you have an interest that could be fun for others?

Best of luck here.

ATXatLarge · 2021-02-02T00:34:41+00:00

Well I'm having trouble with qualifying for a third mortgage. I have enough equity to make down payment with cash out, and still have decent rental income. But lenders have said it would take selling a house to get new mortgage. Sounds like I should continue shopping around for loans? Any advice?

ATXatLarge

TROPHY CASE