What are possible career transitions for a seasoned software developer?

Question

I have been a software developer for 11 years. During these years I worked for number of companies, sometimes changing places twice or three times a year.

They say it takes 10 years to reach 'expert' level, and while I don't think I am an expert by any measure and I have certainly met lots of people who are more knowledgeable, smarter and more focused than I am, however I think it is safe to say that I had my fair share of the whole programming thing and would like to move into something else.

I still get the thrill when a piece of code I've been working on finally starts doing what it supposed to do and things fall into places; I still like discovering new techniques and learning new technologies, although it has got kind of repetitive - I can already see the patterns in this process. It was fun to crack open new things like python, node.js, html5 etc. but after some time it has lost some of its appeal.

Psychology and people's behaviour has always been something interesting for me, especially the practical, applicable bits. Recently I've been to some communication skills training and I realised that I have been missing out on the great deal of fun stuff - how people work and communicate, especially in subconscious, non-verbal area.

I also find fields of Design, typography and UX to be quite interesting, maybe because they are deeply rooted in human psychology and have to take into account various behavioural quirks.

Currently I am thinking of making a career change - ideally moving somewhere my technical skills would still be beneficial in some shape or form. Obviously I have some financial commitments already and would prefer a rather gradual transition.

What are the steps I can take to figure out what I really like and what can make an interesting career going further?

Answer 1

For a software developer there are a number of paths you can go in your career.

1. Management, which is further divided into
   • People Management
   • Project Management
2. Top-most level of software engineer/architect. See this relevant discussion: http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/1533/whats-the-career-path-for-a-developer-who-doesnt-like-management
3. Breaking off into independent consulting.
4. Doing a start-up or small business
5. Academia

Based on your question, I think the latter 2 choices might be what you're looking for. It seems you're interested in Human-Computer Interaction, and that is something you can explore in a Master's Degree or PhD.

Otherwise, you're describing a position that dons a few hats: technical/developer skills, design, communication. That type of position you would only find if you joined a startup (where you're oftentimes expected to wear more than one hat) or started your own thing.

I'd recommend the book Quitter. It will "help bridge the gap between your day job and dream job". :)

Answer 2

Even once the technical stuff is no longer the challenge, people will always remain a challenge. Learning to communicate technical concepts to non technical people is a rewarding endeavor. That can mean management, pre sales engineering, or a whole host of stuff.

Ultimately, computers are easy because they will always do what you tell them. People are not - so if you can learn to interface between the two, you'll never get bored (frustrated, maybe. Psychotic, possibly, but bored, never. ) Being able to bridge the two is a career.