How to land the manager-to-IC pivot
The conventional metaphor for career success is a ladder, but there are a lot of problems with this narrative.


The conventional metaphor for career success is a ladder, but there are a lot of problems with this narrative.
Stack Overflow’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are a cornerstone of our efforts to create a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace.
It’s easy to ask for, and even want, feedback in a sort of theoretical sense. But soliciting and responding to feedback are, themselves skills.
If you find yourself on the receiving end of a layoff—or feeling existential dread more generally—the timing might be right for a major life change.
Suddenly losing a job can be personally destabilizing. But lots of us have been there and gotten through it.
Kristina Lustig, formerly our Director of Design, explains why she took a new role as an associate software developer.
“In their first few years on the job, engineers spend roughly 30% of their workday writing, while engineers in middle management write for 50% to 70% of their day; those in senior management reportedly spend over 70% and as much as 95% of their day writing.” - Jon Leydens
There are benefits to being a technical lead at a less software intensive business.
Sascha Wolf started using Stack Overflow as resource for homework help. But it quickly became his community, and a path to new career opportunities.
From Personal Projects To Production Code