At some point in your career, someone will ask you:
“So… are you going to stay technical, or go into leadership?”
And honestly? It can feel lik...
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
Great post
Thanks @ben ! Really appreciate it, hope it gave you some value!
The community appreciates thoughtful perspective
This really hit home - I've always found myself flipping between loving deep tech work and wanting to support the people around me. Curious, do you find your 'energy source' shifts over time, or does it stay steady for you?
Thanks for joining the discussion @dotallio and your great question! It indeed shifts for me, because sometimes I just want to dive deep into the technical side, go into full-nerd mode and code stuff like window and tab synchronization with the Broadcast Channel API, while other times I want to put the code aside completely and have a meaningful conversation with another developer. I try to seek this balance by doing things like the Free Developer Growth Call and working on freelance assignments.
How do you approach this?
I struggle with it myself as well. being technical oriented, still figuring it out!
You're doing well on "explaining the concept behind it" in this post, hahaha...
As a former team leader, I enjoyed helping others grow. It made me feel accomplished when things were well-organized. However, I quit my job - there is no long-term solution when the environment does not change.
You're right, be honest, whatever I choose to do.
I‘m now an independent marketer for Poindeo, a free online tool for helping create demo videos for products, educational content, etc. Every time I receive genuine feedback from users, I feel that what I'm doing now is truly meaningful. I'm now gradually rediscovering the original learning passion to overcome new difficulties. It makes me go ahead.
Sounds like you made the right decision @nicole_smith ! Indeed quit if there is no long-term solution in sight, you truly deserve better. Glad to hear that you found a new place where you fit and where you are challenged and have found meaningful work - these pillars really make for great work!
Lovely post! It came in the right time. I got asked this question by my CTO just last week and I happily chose the more technical path, for me I enjoy coding more than having to manage a team of people, and I would love to lead a team on a feature or a project but from the technical side of things, but I'd say this maybe it's good advice, it's great to be good at different things like being able to provide feedback and direction outside the view of just code and more into the concept level, and being able to coach other team members like juniors or basically provide guidance beyond pure-code.
Thanks @rasheedmozaffar , I'm glad it helped you! It sounds like you choose the right path and that you have a clear sense of direction, congrats! I like your suggestions, it's indeed good to always be able to help out on other levels. But it's totally fine to go for a more technical approach than a people approach as your main focus. Keep up the good work!
To be honest, this question is something I had never thought about, but in fact, I made a decision.
Let's say I'm focusing on my technical path. Sooner or later, I will teach new members of my team. I'm not talking about mentoring, but any kind of advice, help and assistance to dive into the workflow. You've noticed 100% correctly this point. As people's paths should be evaluated as well. From the experience I have, the success of a project relies on the communication of the team. We can mention here every department, to be honest.
Even when you're deciding to choose one path only, you never know. I have a real-life example: during some position switches at my close friend's company, he was chosen as a lead. Not only because of his knowledge and expertise, but also because of knowing everything about the project. This is when he started onboarding newcomers and helping other members.
Thank you for sharing this story; it's an important thing.
You're welcome @vadym_info_polus and thanks for joining the discussion and sharing examples! Your friend sounds like someone who already shows leadership without asking for it and they are often the best leaders!
Love how honest this is - figuring out my own path too and this kinda helps, so thanks for sharing
Thanks @nevodavid ! You're welcome, glad it helps. I want to keep sharing content like this and hopefully became a helpful guide to a lot of developers who need assistance with their career.
I totally agree with you. The importance of team communication can’t be overstated—it truly is the foundation of any project’s success. Helping new team members, guiding them, and sharing knowledge builds not only technical growth but also trust within the team. I love the example you shared about your friend stepping up as a lead—not just for expertise, but for knowing the whole picture and being able to onboard others effectively.
On a side note, for anyone planning a quick breakfast before their workday, I found this great resource with the wawa breakfast menu. It’s super handy for planning those early morning team meetings!
Hi everyone! Thanks for the overwhelming and positive response to my article, I truly appreciate it. I hope it provides value for you and it helps you get unstuck.
Because this topic resonates with so many people, I decided to turn it into a series. You can find the first article here: dev.to/tlorent/choosing-your-devel....
Hope to see you there!
I'm definitely not a people person, but I don't think I can survive in a team without an effective team leaders like you!
@anvilicious thanks, that means a lot! In the end we need a strong combination of developers with both technical and people skills. That's how we form the best teams!
A mindful article for those who are still struggling to choose a career path in the IT industry. Thanks
You're welcome @kc900201 and thanks for the compliment! I really hope it helps people with their career. Always here to help if you have any questions about this topic!
Great post to knowledge