TLDR; If you want to become a software architect you will need to do maintenance work as well.
"I feel like my goal to become a software architect is threatened." Let's talk about this.
Software architects are generally 10+ years senior engineers who have been tested in battle and are able to make design decisions by using their experience as a heuristic.
Especially early on in your career, you can't expect to only work on greenfield projects, and if you do, you are extremely lucky. Sure you can jump around looking for greenfield projects positions only (consultant companies), but engineering leads need people on their team that will be there to support the applications that they build. As Chris Raser says, development is cyclical.
"I don't want to be just a java expert or a react guru." More on this.
Metaphor time: Would you follow someone to battle if they have never picked up a weapon or barely have won a battle or two? But what about someone who has been at the vanguard, and surviving time after time again.
Reeling it back, you want to be become a software architect yet you don't want to be a guru in some technologies. How will you be able to make the right decisions if you don't have the experience with the technologies that you would be designing a system from the ground up?
That being said, if you are interested more in project management then that's another story :)
Thanks for your advice sir! In my previous position we were about to start a mega project to build a new core banking system because the current one is in COBOL (I was working in the national post which has financial services and much more clients than all the banks together), it was the dream project for many (or maybe any) developer (even seniors that I talked to). So I thought I was very very lucky to be part of that team with many international consultants and experts. Unfortunately, they changed the CEO and the CTO and also the strategy (we weren't involved in the new project) and I decided to quit and you can't imagine how disappointed I am because I missed a project like that one.
I'm really thinking to join a consultant company where they build software for other big companies, I did a Java training in one of them and I really liked the way they work.
So when I was talking about becoming a software architect I knew it's a long run, but you have to do the right run and not just any run, I know people with 10 years of experience in the IT field that can't architect a medium application.
And I knew also that I have to go through the junior/senior developer phase where I must master some technologies (and I'm trying to do it now), but I don't want to stop here, that's what I meant (i said "just").
I think project management can be one of the duties of a lead developer or a software architect, isn't it?
Totally can understand with missing out on a new Greenfield project with that type of scope. Probably a good decision to make the move.
"I know people with 10 years of experience in the IT field that can't architect a medium application." - Not everyone has the ambition you have :) You have no idea it is to breeze through as below average in big corporations.
I understand now with the just, but you should know if people recognize you as the guru of the technologies they are working with, becoming an architect would be a side-effect. (Imagine everyone asking for your opinion for implementation details)
-Grain of salt section-
Hmmm PM tends to be on a more business side of things. They identify what the users want and make the roadmap for the developer team. It gets blurry but more techy people don't like becoming PM's because you end up not programming and just spend your time in meetings.
But as Chris says in his follow up, Stick it out for at least a year and if it doesn't feel like your developing new features time to make the switch again.
Advice on this, keep your data structures and algorithms skills sharpened. Try to do 3 problems a week. By the time you decide to make a move, you'll kill any interview :)
TLDR; If you want to become a software architect you will need to do maintenance work as well.
"I feel like my goal to become a software architect is threatened." Let's talk about this.
Software architects are generally 10+ years senior engineers who have been tested in battle and are able to make design decisions by using their experience as a heuristic.
Especially early on in your career, you can't expect to only work on greenfield projects, and if you do, you are extremely lucky. Sure you can jump around looking for greenfield projects positions only (consultant companies), but engineering leads need people on their team that will be there to support the applications that they build. As Chris Raser says, development is cyclical.
"I don't want to be just a java expert or a react guru." More on this.
Metaphor time: Would you follow someone to battle if they have never picked up a weapon or barely have won a battle or two? But what about someone who has been at the vanguard, and surviving time after time again.
Reeling it back, you want to be become a software architect yet you don't want to be a guru in some technologies. How will you be able to make the right decisions if you don't have the experience with the technologies that you would be designing a system from the ground up?
That being said, if you are interested more in project management then that's another story :)
Thanks for your advice sir! In my previous position we were about to start a mega project to build a new core banking system because the current one is in COBOL (I was working in the national post which has financial services and much more clients than all the banks together), it was the dream project for many (or maybe any) developer (even seniors that I talked to). So I thought I was very very lucky to be part of that team with many international consultants and experts. Unfortunately, they changed the CEO and the CTO and also the strategy (we weren't involved in the new project) and I decided to quit and you can't imagine how disappointed I am because I missed a project like that one.
I'm really thinking to join a consultant company where they build software for other big companies, I did a Java training in one of them and I really liked the way they work.
So when I was talking about becoming a software architect I knew it's a long run, but you have to do the right run and not just any run, I know people with 10 years of experience in the IT field that can't architect a medium application.
And I knew also that I have to go through the junior/senior developer phase where I must master some technologies (and I'm trying to do it now), but I don't want to stop here, that's what I meant (i said "just").
I think project management can be one of the duties of a lead developer or a software architect, isn't it?
Totally can understand with missing out on a new Greenfield project with that type of scope. Probably a good decision to make the move.
"I know people with 10 years of experience in the IT field that can't architect a medium application." - Not everyone has the ambition you have :) You have no idea it is to breeze through as below average in big corporations.
I understand now with the just, but you should know if people recognize you as the guru of the technologies they are working with, becoming an architect would be a side-effect. (Imagine everyone asking for your opinion for implementation details)
-Grain of salt section-
Hmmm PM tends to be on a more business side of things. They identify what the users want and make the roadmap for the developer team. It gets blurry but more techy people don't like becoming PM's because you end up not programming and just spend your time in meetings.
But as Chris says in his follow up, Stick it out for at least a year and if it doesn't feel like your developing new features time to make the switch again.
Advice on this, keep your data structures and algorithms skills sharpened. Try to do 3 problems a week. By the time you decide to make a move, you'll kill any interview :)
Thanks a lot for this great advice, I will take it in consideration for sure along my career.