Where did all the Test managers go?

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I’ve been thinking about your questions in terms of my career progression and it’s worked like this:

  1. My first job I worked for a big insurance company. I reported to a QA Manager and I think that position went all the way to VP. I don’t ever recall seeing a career ladder but I know people held higher positions.
  2. Second job was for a bank. I reported to a QA Manager and I know there were Directors and VPs of QA.
  3. My first startup I reported to the VP of Professional Services because the CTO thought it would be safer / I wouldn’t get overruled by all the developers if I reported to him. First time I was on my own but like you @fullsnacktester I learned a ton being self sufficient.
  4. A big telecom company. My first startup got acquired and I think I reported to a Product Manager. Most of the testers were in India but they had Test Managers within their groups. I remember it being pretty siloed
  5. The next 2 places I worked were both startups where I reported to the CTO or other Engineering Managers. I worked with one or two additional testers on occasion but was mostly the lone tester like at my other startups.
  6. The last place I worked was a startup and I also reported to the CTO. I eventually became a Test Manager and hired a bunch of testers.
  7. Today I’m a Director of QA at a startup.

So that’s 2 companies out of 8 in which I’ve had Test Managers. For me, they’ve just not really ever been part of the equation.

The vast majority of my career I’ve been in your position: not getting a ton of useful feedback on how to develop my testing skills. No disrespect to my early test managers but I didn’t learn much about testing from them.

I always had to look outside to develop my testing skills. Most of the good places where I’ve worked knew that and supported my development in that way. I’ve learned a ton by being alone and having good CTO / Dev Managers who have challenged me. Which I guess goes to show that what I’ve really needed are places that are challenging and supportive to grow the most.

It’s also worth noting that until my last 2 jobs, I wasn’t aware there was a path or career progression outside of management. The last 2 companies had 2 ways to grow: into management (lead, manager, sr manager, director) or further into specialization (staff, principal, architect).

I hope these data points help.