What are the requirements to become a software development manager?

1. Learn about Agile Development Cycle - most companies nowadays use this methodology. Go to Coursera web site and search for "Agile development".
2. Learn coding - that's the only way you understand how and why when making software management decisions such as architectual approach and prioritization of development tasks.
3. Try to acquire some project management skills such as how to control project scope creep, project tracking and reporting.

Software development is a very interesting and challenging and rewarding field for those whose personality traits are aligned with people who are successful in this field. You can get to know how you fit into this area by getting to know yourself better and talking to people in software development to see how you feel about this being an appropriate area for you. Many people in this area get their start at a community college. It would be interesting for you to talk to the director of alumni relations at your local community college to meet and visit people working in this area to see what they are doing, how they got there, and how you feel about this being an appropriate field for you.

The whole process begins with you getting to know yourself better. Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Excellent question, Abigayle! I'm not sure I'd say there are a set of requirements for becoming a manager, but as a manager myself here are some things that I've found useful:

• A desire to help people. Your success is your report's success, so helping them achieve their goals is paramount to being a manager.
• Some level of organization. You don't have to be the most organized person, but you need to think about what your team needs to do in addition to what each of your reports is trying to accomplish with their career. Keeping that straight is important.
• Flexibility. Your team's needs will change over time and you'll need to roll with that. Remember that you're there to make your team happy, not just yourself.
• Empathy. In order to effectively manage your team, you need to put yourself in their shoes, and adjust your approach based on what you see (or are hopefully told).

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but are some of the main qualities you'll want to try and embody as a manager.

Also, keep in mind that you probably won't *start* your career as a manager, but rather grow into it over time.

Hi Abigayle, good on you for making plans for your future. I'd urge you to seek out opportunities to shadow people in some of the jobs you're thinking about as future careers for yourself. Many tech companies do things like tours or careers days for schools, girl scouts and other educational organizations. This will give you a chance to see if the day to day aspects of a role are interesting to you as well as an opportunity to directly ask questions of the people doing these jobs. You could also see out local meet ups or user groups for technology that's interesting to you. These are a great place to both network and ask questions.

Computer science is probably the most relevant degree at this time, but many people in software have different degrees or none at all.

Most importantly, start trying out the software or languages you're interested in so you can find out what you like and gain experience. Education is important but also being able to talk about your experience will go a long way when it's time to interview for an internship or a job.

Also, there are many different careers in software, not all of them are code related, so check all of those out to help find what you think you'll be the most passionate about. Here are a few: Frontend engineer, backend engineer, quality assurance engineer, site reliability engineer, security or privacy engineer, project or program manager, people manager, architect. Figure out what you like to do, where your strengths and weaknesses lie and what kind of problems you want to solve and you'll have a much easier time finding a good fit.