Ask HN: How to transition from software to IT management? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to transition from software to IT management?

2 pointsilluminated4 comments

All my life I've been leading teams working on software with few side hardware integrations (mostly Cisco equipment setup) in the capacity of engineering manager or, in one case, a CTO.

My last company went bankrupt and while I was searching for a new job it happened that I was recommended to the board of a hardware company with factories on several continents, for the "head of IT" role.

I know the difference of the roles, my previous roles and this one.

Is there anyone here who has done such a career transition?

Do you regret it?

What would be your advice for me if I do accept it?

I was pretty happy with the software management roles so far - with development background I get to pretty easy form a connection with everyone. Building any software product so far has been a joy. I know this is a personal opinion, but people working with and under me, do like to work with me. All employers so far liked the fact I had a pretty low fluctuation rate in my teams.

I'm not sure how this would work out in the company where the entire IT team is considered an "expense".

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

Most companies that are not hard tech companies consider IT an expense.

I work for a financial company as a software developer and we are considered an expense. There has been a big push to just buy commercial software instead of building anything in-house, even if that means we have to customize it or build something on top of it. The use of outsourcing has dramatically increased over the years, including outsourcing an entire line of business. They will raise expectations and erode benefits in an effort to keep your costs more comparable to the cost of outsourcing.

Well, I'm aware of the "expense" part and have no issue with it. It's one more thing to think about.

I'm more puzzled with the day to day differences...

In software it's - just software: code quality, making new features, fixing bugs, deployments, etc. Here it's much less software, more hardware and mostly it's organization-wide processes involving IT. Is this doable for someone who's been dealing with 99% of software related issues? Can transition happen?

Oh, ok. I think it would be doable. If you're the head of all of IT, I would find positions or advisors for software, hardware, and security. Something like 'software process champion' or the subdivision head of software. Hopefully there are knowledgeable people internally that could fill that type of role.

I think the most important thing as a leader is creating a network of advisors to give you thoughtful advice, and then being able to weigh the options and even synthesize your own. There are plenty of consultants and research groups (Gartner etc) that can also be helpful in large-scale transformations.

Yeah, I get that. Thanks a lot.

My plan would be to do something similar. Assess the situation (in terms of software, hardware, processes, etc.) and assess the people at hand and move on from there, like with any other managerial position.

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