What does career growth actually look like in hard tech when becoming a manager isn't the only option?

A lot of people reach a point in their career where they've accomplished something big and start asking what's next. Do you become a people manager? Stay an individual contributor and become even better at your craft? Move into venture capital? Or is there another way to think about career growth entirely?

In this episode of VHTB, Seyka Mejeur (AdAstra Talent Advisors), Matt Gjertsen (Built), and Justus Kilian (Space Capital) get into the different paths available to people building careers in hard tech and why moving into management shouldn't automatically be considered the next step.

We talk about the real trade-offs between staying technical and becoming a people leader. Managing people means developing an entirely different set of skills: communication, delegation, decision-making, dealing with people's problems, and ultimately helping other people solve problems instead of always being the person with the answer.

But those aren't the only two paths. What if you treated your career like a portfolio and thought carefully about the three to five bets you might get to make? We get into how engineers and operators can move into venture capital, why the companies you choose early in your career matter, and how time on the venture side can make you a stronger operator if you decide to go back.

And underneath all of these paths is something much simpler: whose problems are you solving? Whether you're interviewing, joining a team, leading one, starting a company, or investing in one, being proactive about finding and solving important problems may be one of the most valuable career skills you can develop.

Episode Highlights

[00:00] What are the different ways to grow a career in hard tech?

[03:32] Why your best individual contributor may not be your best manager

[05:30] How should companies create career growth without forcing people into management?

[08:14] Why a manager's job is to help other people solve problems

[10:03] What actually makes someone ready to become a leader?

[13:05] Can engineers build a career in venture capital?

[15:46] Why you should think about your career as a portfolio

[17:20] How venture capital can make you a better operator

[19:59] The career skill traditional education doesn't teach you

Episode Takeaways

• Becoming a manager isn't the only way to grow your career in hard tech.
• Individual contributors and people managers require different skills, and neither path should automatically be treated as the better one.
• Great technical performance doesn't necessarily mean someone will be a great people leader.
• Moving into management means shifting from solving problems yourself to helping other people solve problems.
• Engineers and operators can also consider venture capital as another path for applying their technical experience and network.
• Your career can be viewed as a portfolio of a handful of important bets, making the companies you choose to join a meaningful part of your long-term trajectory.
• Moving between operating roles and venture capital can build different skills and perspectives without requiring either one to become a permanent career.
• Career growth starts with proactively understanding other people's problems and figuring out where you can create the most value.
• One of the hardest transitions from school to work is learning to identify problems yourself instead of waiting for someone to tell you what to solve.

Subscribe to VHTB for more conversations on the talent, culture, and capital forces shaping the hard tech startup ecosystem.

Links & Resources

Space Capital: https://www.spacecapital.com/

BUILT: https://builtleaders.com/

AdAstra Talent Advisors: https://adastra.us/