Comment Become a Leader (Score 1) 371
The main skill you need if you wish to become management has barely anything to do with the fields you have flitted between. I've been in the industry since the late 90s and have only seen one (1) (besides me) under 30 person become management, and that was because a) She was one of the best technologically rounded people I've ever known and b) She knew how to communicate requirements both to the Client (Management) and to the Geeks doing the work in a diplomatic fashion. She was also very organized, driven and able to talk to anyone about the projects she was heading. If you can't bridge that gap between the plebs and the geeks in a graceful, organized and illuminating manner, you won't get anywhere and people will dislike you on both sides of a project.
Sorry if I sound dubious about your question, I'd say 99.999% of the Geeks who want to move up to Management aren't going to be good at it because they are inept at diplomacy (I'm not talking the board game) and the creative thinking that you need to have to deal with interpersonal relationships. You're not only dealing with project requirements and timing, you're dealing with egos (which are wild and varied in the Geek community; much easier to judge someone NOT in the technical field). You need to be very flexible in your thinking about situations (which most Geeks aren't, thank you logical thinking!), and be prepared to change based on someone's bad mood and not take it personally.
I skipped from developer to owner of a company, which is a whole new level of diplomacy (read as insanity). Just know that what you're thinking about doing shouldn't be taken lightly and might not be as easy to jump into with your limited credentials. Take some business classes and see if it is of interest to you still.
Sorry if I sound dubious about your question, I'd say 99.999% of the Geeks who want to move up to Management aren't going to be good at it because they are inept at diplomacy (I'm not talking the board game) and the creative thinking that you need to have to deal with interpersonal relationships. You're not only dealing with project requirements and timing, you're dealing with egos (which are wild and varied in the Geek community; much easier to judge someone NOT in the technical field). You need to be very flexible in your thinking about situations (which most Geeks aren't, thank you logical thinking!), and be prepared to change based on someone's bad mood and not take it personally.
I skipped from developer to owner of a company, which is a whole new level of diplomacy (read as insanity). Just know that what you're thinking about doing shouldn't be taken lightly and might not be as easy to jump into with your limited credentials. Take some business classes and see if it is of interest to you still.