A career in management will need more of your soft skills and less of your technical ones. This means that day-to-day a management position will call upon you to:
- Lead and train
- Help others succeed
- Experience more varied roles
- Take on more responsibility
- Become a leader The pros and cons
The pros include a pay rise, more authority and a greater sense of achievement. The cons are taking responsibility for your team’s actions (good and bad) and putting distance between yourself and colleagues.
Test the waters
Try on the job for size by managing a small project or taking responsibility for a new employee. Acting as a mentor is a great way to share your skills and experience, learn from others and find out if you have the confidence or interest in moving to a management role. Seek out technology training on the likes of Catia, Cadds5, Nastran and Matlab.
You’re ready! So what next?
If you feel that you’re up to the challenge, the next step is to ask your manager for advice. Find out what support they can offer and what opportunities are open to you. They might even have some pointers on certain skills you could develop more. If you want a little more advice, speaking to a recruitment adviser always helps.