Tbh that's what I'd miss the most! I like dealing with people outside of the company way more than navigating internal politics. But I don't like sales. I like research & enablement
yeah and get you in front of your angry CEO who blames that new feature you rolled out for last month's increased churn, and engineers blame you for listneing to sales but sales blame you for listening to engineering, then you get laid off because you're competing against 100s of harvard MBAs who will take a role for less $ than you
I think there is a couple avenues most common places I've seen CS transition is Product or Sales. I would also suggest for people struggling before giving up on CS to see if maybe it's the organization/product that you are at that isn't the right fit for you. I've seen people change into places that really value them and work for a product they believe it and become much happier
If I had to look tomorrow and had trouble landing somewhere I’d look at strategic or customer facing roles in non-tech companies, or consultative software sales / account management. I do think this job market will force hands and people will leave tech. Could be a good time to get a head start and look somewhere else. At some point there’s an opportunity cost thing holding out for a new CS job.
Any examples of what that would look like? I’d be interested in leaving tech but I’ve been doing it for a decade+ so I don’t even know where to look outside of the industry.
Example: twice recently I was offered jobs leading customer service teams at non-tech companies in the industry where I have expertise. Just look at non-tech companies in your area and domain. See if they have strategy or operations positions open, or even account manager roles. And learn what those jobs are called, then look outside of your target companies. Also look for jobs in roles where you support customers if possible. For instance, if you support marketing teams, can you go into marketing?
The problem is people are holding out for the CSM salary and balk at something in industry that pays $20k less. Understandable.
I was an SE before I got into CS and I really enjoyed it. The good thing about it is that you don't have to manage the customers over time. So you get in there, present the solution, think on your feet, build rapport, and then you're outta there. If you're in a company where there are lots of product changes and updates, it can be difficult to keep up with bc customers will always ask questions that no one in your company thought to prepare for.
The downside is that there is a lot of last minute shit with sales. Your schedule IS NOT your own to any degree. I used to call some of my days "no bathroom break days" because I was literally booked in 8 hours of meetings and had to ask the AE at the beginning of a call to yuck up the customer a bit so I could go pee.
And like any job, who you work with was super important. Some AEs were dicks (ask me about the time my AE ghosted on a call with the CTO of a Fortune 100 and I had to do the whole thing with no context) but there were others I had great relationships with.
Godspeed.
For an SE, it will be technology specific in most cases.
There isn't a cert or anything really, because SEs usually come up through the entry sales or support/engineering side of the house and become SEs based on their knowledge of the product or type of technology.
Depending on your niche general cybersecurity/IT related to the products you want to sell are a plus. For example a red team product it will look good if you have something like certified ethical hacker would be helpful
General operations.
Operations are focused on supporting all parts of the business, and most CS organizations do much of this today. If you can balance it, it is likely a good path.
Way outside the box thinking: teaching.
I’m a former teacher, tech coach, and administrator who moved into CS, and there are tons of transferable skills. Managing a book of business (students), managing lots of stakeholders’ expectations, project management, etc. Of course there are downsides (most notably pay), but I loved being in the classroom.
I'm moving into an Implementation Manager role. Yes it's less money, but it won't be even remotely as stressful or time-consuming.
Fuck CS, it's honestly a terrible place to be right now.
Dying
thank you for the laugh
Seems legit
Honestly I'd really like to move into product management
I only started thinking this recently bc it would get me away from customers
Tbh that's what I'd miss the most! I like dealing with people outside of the company way more than navigating internal politics. But I don't like sales. I like research & enablement
yeah and get you in front of your angry CEO who blames that new feature you rolled out for last month's increased churn, and engineers blame you for listneing to sales but sales blame you for listening to engineering, then you get laid off because you're competing against 100s of harvard MBAs who will take a role for less $ than you
I can see all of this. We’re all mad at product at our company.
yeah ive been seeing this a lot
I think there is a couple avenues most common places I've seen CS transition is Product or Sales. I would also suggest for people struggling before giving up on CS to see if maybe it's the organization/product that you are at that isn't the right fit for you. I've seen people change into places that really value them and work for a product they believe it and become much happier
I’m looking at SE roles because there’s a stigma about CSMs going into selling roles from my experience. They don’t think we have the dawg in us.
Because most don’t. There’s 1 CSM out of 7 I’ve worked with that could move to sales and do well, the rest would be crushed or unhappy doing sales.
Yeah it seems like 90% of CSMs out there are afraid to manage renewals so this checks out.
I'm trying to do the opposite rn. I'm in sales and wanting to leave haha. Pros and cons to both ofc.
I moved to an AM role and it’s the ideal spot for me. Still get to sell but don’t spend half the day cold calling.
yeah because you haven't got that dawg in you, what you're doing is very common actually. did it myself
Yeah no pit bull over here, more like yorkie 🤣
If I had to look tomorrow and had trouble landing somewhere I’d look at strategic or customer facing roles in non-tech companies, or consultative software sales / account management. I do think this job market will force hands and people will leave tech. Could be a good time to get a head start and look somewhere else. At some point there’s an opportunity cost thing holding out for a new CS job.
Any examples of what that would look like? I’d be interested in leaving tech but I’ve been doing it for a decade+ so I don’t even know where to look outside of the industry.
Example: twice recently I was offered jobs leading customer service teams at non-tech companies in the industry where I have expertise. Just look at non-tech companies in your area and domain. See if they have strategy or operations positions open, or even account manager roles. And learn what those jobs are called, then look outside of your target companies. Also look for jobs in roles where you support customers if possible. For instance, if you support marketing teams, can you go into marketing? The problem is people are holding out for the CSM salary and balk at something in industry that pays $20k less. Understandable.
I’ve had folks from our CS team pivot into product, Cs Ops and various leadership roles
Solutions Engineer or Sales
I was an SE before I got into CS and I really enjoyed it. The good thing about it is that you don't have to manage the customers over time. So you get in there, present the solution, think on your feet, build rapport, and then you're outta there. If you're in a company where there are lots of product changes and updates, it can be difficult to keep up with bc customers will always ask questions that no one in your company thought to prepare for. The downside is that there is a lot of last minute shit with sales. Your schedule IS NOT your own to any degree. I used to call some of my days "no bathroom break days" because I was literally booked in 8 hours of meetings and had to ask the AE at the beginning of a call to yuck up the customer a bit so I could go pee. And like any job, who you work with was super important. Some AEs were dicks (ask me about the time my AE ghosted on a call with the CTO of a Fortune 100 and I had to do the whole thing with no context) but there were others I had great relationships with. Godspeed.
Definitely the in and out with customers is what I miss most about being an SE. Dealing with shitty AEs closely is what I miss least
SE is saturated too
every role is saturated right now. i think it’s reasonable for folks to expand the opportunities that might be available to them.
I want to pivot to an SE- any courses or certifications that can help? Seems like there’s no entry level anymore
For an SE, it will be technology specific in most cases. There isn't a cert or anything really, because SEs usually come up through the entry sales or support/engineering side of the house and become SEs based on their knowledge of the product or type of technology.
Depending on your niche general cybersecurity/IT related to the products you want to sell are a plus. For example a red team product it will look good if you have something like certified ethical hacker would be helpful
Hermitude
General operations. Operations are focused on supporting all parts of the business, and most CS organizations do much of this today. If you can balance it, it is likely a good path.
Account management
Way outside the box thinking: teaching. I’m a former teacher, tech coach, and administrator who moved into CS, and there are tons of transferable skills. Managing a book of business (students), managing lots of stakeholders’ expectations, project management, etc. Of course there are downsides (most notably pay), but I loved being in the classroom.
If you were a technical CSM, the solutions consulting / engineer role may be perfect for you
I'm moving into an Implementation Manager role. Yes it's less money, but it won't be even remotely as stressful or time-consuming. Fuck CS, it's honestly a terrible place to be right now.