Career Paths

In this chapter, we’ll look into the paths you may take to become a technical program manager (TPM), followed by a closer view of the different career paths that are available to a TPM. As the tech industry is large, the paths described here represent a generalized view of these career paths based on the interviews I have conducted, as well as the job descriptions available to me.

We’ll also get a close look at two professional TPM journeys that showcase the different paths you can take, which will reinforce that no two journeys are the same, nor are they ever straight paths.

We’ll explore the available career paths by doing the following:

• Examining the career paths of a TPM
• Exploring the individual contributor (IC) path
• Exploring the people manager path

Let’s dive right in!