Does Team Lead experience in one field / industry make it difficult to move to different field?

Question

I have just been named team lead at my company-- I'll have two people reporting to me, but still doing software development. My specialty is in hardware automation and desktop software, but I would like to get into a role in a company doing ASP.NET, SaaS, or things like that.

My question is to hiring managers: Would my experience as a team lead hurt my chances of later switching to a different industry? Will I ever be considered for a software engineer role again? I am assuming that someone with desktop software experience and no internet experience would not be considered as team lead at a web oriented company. I would love to hear from people in the SF Bay Area, as that is where I am, and where a lot of industries that I am interested in.

Answer 1

You're probably over-thinking this. If you can produce as a software engineer, having team lead experience will only enhance your resume.

I would question why you were a lead but moved or want to move strictly back into engineering, but that's toward understanding where your motivations would be going forward. You should be prepared to answer that question.

Answer 2

Turn that in to a positive thing - that's what I've done over the years.

Something like:

I've been in IT for x years and offer a unique combination of maturity, a deep understanding of computing, and proven leadership experience.

Answer 3

In my direct experience having Team Lead on your CV is an excellent way to open doors, the only issue I've had is managers asking whether you're still happy to code. It's a reasonable question as Team Lead can progress to Project Manager and on to dev manager.

As developers it seems to be a common trait to be really self critical, especially in regard to 'soft' skills. For instance how many times have you asked about progress on a project and heard about all the things that don't yet work - funny isn't it. Although being a good developer is hard, being a good developer with an eye on the bigger picture is both hard and unusual. Those traits make you invaluable.

Answer 4

It depends on the sort of company you're looking to join later. If it's a start-up or small company the hiring manager will want confidence that you can still program and have not turned into "Middle Management". Of course if you can still demonstrate that you can get work done, you'll be fine.

In bigger companies or consultancies having team lead experience may be considered more valuable. Especially if there is a chance that you may have to lead a team or project.

Just make sure that you don't get so busy being a team lead that you lose touch with the technology, unless you truly want to move into IS management.