I’ve got almost 20 years of experience working in the tech industry and this is the role and expectation of an Engineering Manager. Good engineering managers are people managers and leaders for software engineers, are often responsible for technical delivery teams, and they have a strong understanding of technical details combined with competency in adjacent domains such as analytics, product management and design. They are also responsible for the performance management and career development of their direct reports.
So to answer the question of should they know how to code, yes sure. However, when it comes to the question of whether they should still be coding, it really depends.
Here is my experience working at tech companies as an engineering manager.
When I was an engineering manager of a small team of 4-5, my coding time was about 40% - 50%.
When I was an engineering manager of a 12 people team, I’d only have about 10%-20% time for coding.
When I was looking after multiple engineering teams, I’d only get to code at work once every 3 months during hackathons.
Now, as a senior engineering manager at a tech company, I do not have time for coding at all.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
I think it’s not so much about coding on a day to day basis, but rather understanding the basic principles of software engineering. And these are fundamentals cannot be acquired purely theoretically, require hands on experience.
Nevertheless, I understand that certain hierarchy levels require shift of focus from coding to other tasks such as leading people.
I would like to know if you still use your technical knowledge on a daily basis?
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I’ve got almost 20 years of experience working in the tech industry and this is the role and expectation of an Engineering Manager. Good engineering managers are people managers and leaders for software engineers, are often responsible for technical delivery teams, and they have a strong understanding of technical details combined with competency in adjacent domains such as analytics, product management and design. They are also responsible for the performance management and career development of their direct reports.
So to answer the question of should they know how to code, yes sure. However, when it comes to the question of whether they should still be coding, it really depends.
Here is my experience working at tech companies as an engineering manager.
When I was an engineering manager of a small team of 4-5, my coding time was about 40% - 50%.
When I was an engineering manager of a 12 people team, I’d only have about 10%-20% time for coding.
When I was looking after multiple engineering teams, I’d only get to code at work once every 3 months during hackathons.
Now, as a senior engineering manager at a tech company, I do not have time for coding at all.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
I think it’s not so much about coding on a day to day basis, but rather understanding the basic principles of software engineering. And these are fundamentals cannot be acquired purely theoretically, require hands on experience.
Nevertheless, I understand that certain hierarchy levels require shift of focus from coding to other tasks such as leading people.
I would like to know if you still use your technical knowledge on a daily basis?