As a technology professional, there will come a point when you wonder whether to continue growing as an Individual Contributor or transition into a management role. At the mid-career level, this decision can be particularly challenging, as the path you choose can significantly impact your career and life.

Evaluating your career goals and aspirations

Where you began your career does not define your future path. You may have started your job in an economic downturn with less options, or probably didn’t have much of a say in the industry and domain you started working for. It could also be that you were just happy getting a job offer after experiencing job search fatigue.

At the mid-career level, you may want to consider taking time to reflect on this journey and being intentional about designing your career moving forward. This will matter in the long run as you keep getting specialized in a certain area, work on specific technologies or gain deep domain expertise – which you may not necessarily want to be in. Knowing when to get out is as important as knowing where you’re going next.

At the mid-career level, you might have another 20 to 30 years of being in the workforce. This is a long time! At least once a year, you should take time to reflect on where you are and where you want to go.

Here are some prompts I like to use:

• What are my long-term career goals? Where do I want to be in the next 2 to 3 years?
• Do I envision myself in a leadership role, or do I prefer to remain an expert in my field?
• What kind of impact do I want to have on the products, projects, teams and/or the organization as a whole?
• Am I more fulfilled by deep technical work or by leading and developing others? or both?

I encourage you to write these questions and answer them. If you can do this exercise with a friend, that would be even better. If you take this one step, you’re ahead of so many who are lost in the maze of being busy. In order to get somewhere you have to be clear on what it is that you want and where you are heading. Many women in tech become so focused on the daily grind that they struggle to see the forest for the trees, losing sight of their long-term career goals by never pausing to reflect on where they are truly headed.

Assess your Interests, Strengths and Gaps

My passion for data led me to a career in data analytics. I loved looking at patterns, and finding the story that the data represented. At a certain point though I realized I wanted to be in a leadership position eventually, and for that gaining people management skills was important. I didn’t exactly know how that path was going to look like and neither did I know I would end up being a product leader and eventually go on to be part of an executive team. Although I was clear on the direction I was going towards.

Once you are aware of your interests, areas of strengths, combined with your expertise and experience, now work on figuring out the gaps in your skillset that is needed for your next role.

• What kind of upskilling and reskilling will you need?
• What training or work experience will help you differentiate yourself?
• How else could you reduce your competency gaps?

Whatever you aim for, aim for excellence.

Also consider talking to Industry leaders, mentors, managers or leaders within your organization to ask about their experience. There is so much to be learnt from people ahead of you, and it is also a great way to improve on your networking skills. In an organization, leaders are more open to connecting with you and guiding you. If you don’t have that support at work, cultivate that through external networks and groups.

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Individual Contributor vs being a Manager

There’s no one size fits all solution when choosing between being an Individual Contributor and a manager. What made sense for me, or your friend may not make sense for you. That is why you have to carefully assess your individual interests, experience, skills, organization size, environments, family and desire for impact and growth.

Each role has its own tradeoffs and benefits. There are sacrifices on both paths. What tradeoffs are you willing to make for the benefits of that role?

The path as an Individual Contributor

Career growth as an individual contributor (IC) is definitely possible and fulfilling. I know some amazing principal engineers, architects, data scientists and senior product people on this path. Some of these folks chose to stay technical as they wanted to stay core to their path, and their organizations encouraged them or made paths for them to stay there and grow.

Some of the benefits of being an IC are

• ‍Develop Deep Expertise – As an IC you can focus on the specific technical expertise and stay core to your craft. You can also focus on learning newer technologies pertaining to your product /project work.‍
• Flexibility and Autonomy – An IC will often have more control over their schedule and work processes, leading to a somewhat better work-life balance than a manager.
• Less personnel management and fewer meetings– the overhead of managing a team from an administrative perspective, performance reviews, team alignments go hand in hand with more meetings and time.  

The tradeoffs of being an IC can be the limited ability to be a leader and influence others, or have a seat at the table when strategic decisions or career decisions are being made. Although it is not the norm, some IC roles are so critical that they are able to get involved in strategic decisions. In most cases when you are a great IC, you do get offered the role to become a manager eventually. For career longevity on this path, it is important to assess that the organization you are working for has the ability to support your growth and appetite for learning.

The path as a Manager

Being a great manager is a difficult and complex job and hence it does add value to your career portfolio. You are not only responsible for your work, but also responsible for the quality and timeliness of your team’s work. You are responsible for the development of those on your team and being their coach. Motivating other people to do their best work and to follow your lead is a challenge. You have to navigate around all sorts of difficult stakeholders, manage numerous meetings, and protect your team from politics. All while ensuring that you and your team are hitting your organizational goals. You also have to be ok with being the bearer of bad news to your team and helping them navigate through changes that are not in your control.

When I first became a manager, I struggled with giving feedback, speaking up in strategic meetings, holding people accountable and resolving conflicts to unblock the team. Like any skill, if you are genuinely interested in it, you can become better at it. Being a great manager can be impactful and rewarding. If you are choosing this path, then be sure to enlist the support you need to be an amazing manager. Be it working with a mentor internally or taking advantage of any training and coaching available through your organization. Like any new skill, it takes time to become a great manager.  

Some of the benefits of being a Manager ‍

• ‍Leadership – being a great manager can open up opportunities to other leadership roles. Management experience and skill get recognized as it comes with the ability to influence and negotiate with other stakeholders. This allows you to set direction for the growth of the organization. The benefit of being in management, is it definitely opens up opportunities to other leadership positions in the future.‍
• Impact – Being a manager or a leader comes with the broader ability to make an impact. Typically, these folks are the ones that are invited to strategic meetings and also have a say in promoting and compensating people on their team. ‍
• Mentorship – If you are a people person, the aspect of coaching and mentorship in a managerial role will feel rewarding. As challenging as it can be, working and seeing the best in an individual and seeing them grow is fulfilling. It is essentially people helping people grow.

Conclusion

Choosing either path comes with its own challenges and opportunities for career advancement. Index for your impact and growth as you assess your own personal interests and strengths. Be aware of why you’re making those choices, and don’t let fear or LinkedIn envy play a role in that choice. Be curious about the path you are taking and take action. Even if it feels like a misstep, it's really just another crossroad—what matters is how you navigate your next move.

Dipti Patel  helps mid to senior level women in technology gain clarity and confidence to build successful careers. She is a career and leadership coach with nearly two decades of experience in Product Management and Technology. She brings a wealth of industry knowledge, personal experience and practical insights to her coaching practice. Her passion lies in helping women navigate their career paths with purpose and develop their leadership skills necessary for their next growth role.

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