Developer Tea Individual Contributor Career Growth w/ Matt Klein (part 2)
Jun 21, 2019
Matt Klein, Lyft engineer and core Envoy contributor, explains why he chose to stay a technical builder and what long-term IC paths look like. He contrasts leadership and people management, discusses breadth versus depth strategies, and explains how to build influence, specialize over time, and navigate politics without formal authority.
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Advocate Relentlessly For Your Own IC Career
- Advocate relentlessly for your own career direction as an IC.
- Matt Klein says managers won't always know your goals, so state the skills and projects you want and pursue them actively.
Both IC And Manager Paths Narrow At The Top
- Climbing any career ladder is hard and has a pyramid of opportunities.
- Matt Klein notes both IC and manager tracks narrow at the top and require overlapping skills like politics and leadership.
Choose Between Building Things Or Managing People
- Decide whether you prefer technical problem solving or people management and be honest with that choice.
- Matt Klein chose IC work because he loves solving large technical problems end to end and dislikes primary focus on growing people.