Technical Program Manager or Software Engineer?

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Chapters:
00:00 - intro
00:35 - my experience as a technical program manager
05:30 - my idea of a tpm
06:17 - career path
07:11 - recommendations
08:24 - outro
Becoming a software engineer is usually the most common path computer science students take after graduating college. And throughout my time studying math and computer science at ucsd, I definitely mostly looked into software engineer internships and software engineer new grad jobs.
Though I did hear about program manager positions a little bit in college, I never really understood what they were or what they did. It wasn't really until I joined Microsoft as a technical program manager that I finally understood the nuances between a non-technical program manager, a software engineer, and a technical program manager.
My original position at Microsoft was to be a software engineer. I was eventually transitioned to a software engineer program manager hybrid, which ultimately evolved into my technical program manager position.
On my first team at Microsoft, I did a lot of coding, which is very atypical for a "program manager." I mostly programmed in C#, but I was also responsible for some PM tasks like writing user stories, creating diagrams, hosting meetings, giving presentations, and editing demos.
Eventually I transitioned teams at Microsoft and my technical program manager position became a lot more program manager oriented. So a ton more meetings, planning, presentations, reporting, and ultimately less coding (but I still do code in Python!)
My experience at Microsoft so far has been that software engineers will build the product, but do not really engage with the user requirements or planning. The program managers will create the plans based on the customer requirements, but may not have the full technical perspective. Therefore the technical program managers act as the facilitators between the program managers and the software engineers, and provide support for both technical and non-technical work!
In essence, the responsibilities of a technical program manager can and will change based on the company and team (and some companies don't even have technical program managers), but overall I have really enjoyed my time as a tpm at Microsoft!
Comment down below any questions you have about becoming a technical program manager!
#softwareengineer
#programmanager
#tpm
c r e d i t s 🎵
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d i s c l a i m e r
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I do not claim to own any or all of the pictures/footage that may be shown in this video.
All of my opinions are entirely my own and do not represent any company I work for or am affiliated with.
Any financial topics discussed are not financial advice.

[@Markzfilter]

I really appreciate you taking the time to explain what your experience has been. I recently interviewed with Amazon for an iOS SDE 3 role and now being considered for a Senior TPM role. I've been binging videos like yours to better understand the role as it isn't ubiquitous yet in the SDLC at many companies. I am really excited about the prospect of landing a TPM role because it is such a dynamic role that has a balance between the technical and human sides.

[@ByteOfMichael]

Thanks so much and good luck!

[@kateseattle]

Love how you explained each role and the main differences between two. I agree that TPM is more fun, to see full life circle.

[@aashwinsharma1859]

Thnx for sharing yr experience. It was really helpful

[@BuddhaMaybe]

Much respect to the quality of your content, This video was informative and direct.

[@sophiaonyoutube]

i love listening to your vids! sometimes i just let your videos play in the background like an audio podcast 😅

[@ByteOfMichael]

hahah Glad you like them!

[@mr_phamtastic]

love your explanation!

[@ByteOfMichael]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CreativeTutorialsWeb]

Thanks for sharing Sir

[@ByteOfMichael]

Glad you liked it!

[@king-stoney-jay7210]

Can I pursue this technical project manager if I have 7 years of technical background in low voltage and a project management bachelors? Or would it be more sufficient to pursue a CS degree?

[@kayseeday]

Hey Michael was wondering what you can recommend for my situation. I did a boot camp years ago and I’ve bounced around as a freelance front end developer. A year ago I landed a role as a technical implementation manager. It’s similar to a TPM but with far less coding or none at all. You’re expected to understand how systems work and make the technical planning. I rarely code in this role rather I’m the person that communicates between the technical and non technical teams and creates and documents the technical execution of a campaign we’re working on. I also lead investigations and do troubleshooting and delegate resolutions to the respective teams. I actually like documenting and creating tooling. There are so many things missing or could use significant improvement in our teams and I create small tools to help them out like a snippet generator or an add on that styles legacy tools for friendlier UI. I love creating tools that help the team. In my previous role I did a lot of deep dive investigations which I still do, and created tools to help the team. The previous role was a production role. Is a TPM similar to this or something that you see would be the next step for someone like me? It sounds really interesting my concern is that my code experience isn’t as robust as a software engineer.

[@ByteOfMichael]

Ya I think with your experience you'd fit well in a TPM role. It is very team and company dependent though as some TPMs will do coding (like me), and some will never touch code and mostly do software project planning. Good luck!

[@sure-win25]

You were a math major, Applied math major in the mathematics department.

[@SweatySockGaming]

What Internships should I aim for if I want to be a technical program manager

[@ByteOfMichael]

In my opinion, I think either regular PM internships or software engineering internships can be beneficial, as you might do a little bit of both.

[@User-jm5xe]

I was a software developer for 12yrs and then took a break. Got into Biz strategy, a little bit of Product management and some Tech SME. Now, 5 yrs later I am contemplating if I should go back to being a software dev (I miss it) or if I should take up a much serious role like a TPM. I am getting interview calls from the FAANG companies for TPMs but I am in a great fix about which way to go. I haven't done the FAANG type TPM before since I have always worked for small sized companies. So I am nervous that I might burn my self out. I am not a big fan of the people skills part of a PM job (it is stressful), but I am surprisingly good at it !! and I am neither God's gift to developers (above avg. dev skills) !! Would appreciate your opinion.

[@ByteOfMichael]

I would say try out TPM if it generally sounds interesting! From my perspective you are responsible for a lot of the collaboration and cross team/project functionality. So you'll definitely be flexing your soft skills. But you also get to participate in broader technical discussions! Every team is different in terms of work life balance which dictates if you would get burnt out. My current team at Microsoft has great work life balance. Take all my opinions with a grain of salt though! Good luck!

[@prerna3404]

Could you share your CV , I'm also trying for TPM profiles but i don't get any calls , wanna see what I'm missing

[@tommyrong6955]

Which role make more money on the same role level? TPM or SDE?

[@ByteOfMichael]

If they're at the same level, they will make the same!

[@youngccs]

I’m currently an electrical engineer with experience at a defense contract company working on system level projects. My goal is to eventually transition into a PM role with a tech company like Microsoft. How much of a handicap would I have trying to enter that world with little program experience?

[@ByteOfMichael]

I haven't been in the industry too long but I don't think there would be too much of a handicap. I would say just apply for some positions or try to switch internally at your company!

[@saarthshah]

What management opportunities can I get out of being a data scientist?

[@ByteOfMichael]

I'd say as you move up the ranks to say a senior data scientist, then you can choose to become a people manager. Although at the beginning of your career it is really unlikely that you'll be managing people.

[@saarthshah]

@@ByteOfMichael gotcha, thanks!

[@arnaud7688]

Hi Mikie, thank you for sharing. I’m wondering if you are in an scrum or in another agile environnement.

[@ByteOfMichael]

Yep, on my team at Microsoft we do agile with scrum and a 2 week sprint!

[@arnaud7688]

​@@ByteOfMichael What is the size of your team? Does your PO work closely with all members or is he busy with other team or customers? do you work for the end user or an internal customer? TPM seems to be an interesting role. But I'm wondering if it is not a role which should be normally shared between the PO and the Devs (developpers, architect, testers ...). So, what is the position of your agile coaches about this? My manager asked me to study this role, but I'm wondering if it will fit in our company...

[@dylangoode2460]

King

[@ByteOfMichael]

haha cheers

[@abdulrahuman8418]

I found your channel recently. And i have been watching most of your videos continuously. Very good content bro. Love from india

[@ByteOfMichael]

Thanks a ton!

[@saarthshah]

Thanks for this video MIQL

[@ByteOfMichael]

Glad you liked it!

[@jasonlouis-jean5897]

When did you change your name

[@ByteOfMichael]

A little over a week ago. I've been experimenting between MIQL and mikie!

[@morethan3]

​@@ByteOfMichael I personally like MIQL better cuz it looks like SQL

[@kays3599]

Why did you decide to start a KZbin channel? I see a lot of techies do that. Why do they do it?

[@ByteOfMichael]

I think I just watched a lot of KZbin and wanted to participate in the creation. I also initially wanted to share my experiences in college and the tech industry so that maybe someone could find it helpful!

[@kays3599]

@@ByteOfMichael That's really cool! I always wondered what drives people. Thanks!