how to land first managerial role as an old IC (42 years old)

[Anonymous]

Hi! I am 42 years old in big pharma. I have mentored many formally but my company is not giving me direct reports on the org chart. I am promoted and very well compensated (even compared to other peers who are having direct reports). I built out a project, and yet again, they are bringing in a younger person to manage the team and I will stay on as SME.

I have expressed my desire for a managerial role for almost 5 years now. I have changed managers in between that time and I am typically just laughed off.

I want to go into management to really build out a team and really grow the project. I think I will be more effective as a true line leader.

Is it a marketable proposition to approach other companies citing desire for supervisory experience as reason to leave?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What reasons do your managers give you for not putting you on an people management path

[Anonymous]

My managers tell me that my time is better saved for SME/IC then give me a promotion but still no report. I do plenty of mentoring. I volunteer for the summer interns. Im the one who onboards the new hires.

[Anonymous]

Project manager, mentor, subject matter expert, very well compensated. I'm hearing a lot of great things here. You sound like a leader within your company, although you don't officially have the status of managing people.

I'm in the same situation with the Federal government at age 46, but am very satisfied not having to manage people. A younger employee got promoted to manager recently and I'm not even concerned about it. That being said, the Federal government doesn't have an up or out policy like some companies have. I can stay in my SME role until retirement.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know OP, but I’ve been a manager and am currently a senior IC and don’t want to be a manager again (I’m 39). This might be career “suicide” but the workload is grossly disproportionate to the additional money, IMO. I might feel differently in a few years but I’m going to ride this out as long as I can. I am also working on other endeavors which would lead to eventual self-employment, which I think is the best bet in our ever more unstable world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My managers tell me that my time is better saved for SME/IC then give me a promotion but still no report. I do plenty of mentoring. I volunteer for the summer interns. Im the one who onboards the new hires.

That is not a good answer. You should be getting better answers from your manager if you have been asking for 5 years. Ask what skills you need to improve to become a manager. Other than skills what else need to happen for you to be a manager? Ask to be considered next time there is an opportunity to manage a new hire

[Anonymous]

OP: Why mess up a great situation ?

If you want to manage, then volunteer for a youth sports team or for a charity.

[Anonymous]

I think managing line reports is important for influence.

[Anonymous]

Who WANTS to be a manager? It's the worst. Same amount of work as an IC, but then you have managerial work on top of that. And then every once in a while you get a dud that consumes all your time putting them on a PIP and firing. I'm so jealous of how much less work my direct reports have than me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who WANTS to be a manager? It's the worst. Same amount of work as an IC, but then you have managerial work on top of that. And then every once in a while you get a dud that consumes all your time putting them on a PIP and firing. I'm so jealous of how much less work my direct reports have than me.

I'm an IC married to a manager and you've hit the nail on the head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My managers tell me that my time is better saved for SME/IC then give me a promotion but still no report. I do plenty of mentoring. I volunteer for the summer interns. Im the one who onboards the new hires.

That is not a good answer. You should be getting better answers from your manager if you have been asking for 5 years. Ask what skills you need to improve to become a manager. Other than skills what else need to happen for you to be a manager? Ask to be considered next time there is an opportunity to manage a new hire

ManagerS which means the OP is not what this organization thinks of as manager material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who WANTS to be a manager? It's the worst. Same amount of work as an IC, but then you have managerial work on top of that. And then every once in a while you get a dud that consumes all your time putting them on a PIP and firing. I'm so jealous of how much less work my direct reports have than me.

So much this. I returned to the IC world after several years of being a manager and...never again.

[Anonymous]

All of you saying being a mgr is hard is missing the point that OP wants to do it

[Anonymous]

Nothing to do with easy/hard. With just one or two bad direct reports, it's a time suck that often makes the work week miserable.

[Anonymous]

Serious question - why do you want to be a manager? Is it desire for the title? more money? Love developing people? Want to do more administrative work and less "boots on the ground" work? What is driving you to want that path?
If its title, then getting a manager position is the only way to solve that. If its any of the other things, you should be able to work those tasks into your current role.
Have you been applying for manager roles within and outside your company?
Sometimes the best way to move into a new position is to move to another company.