It seems that companies would rather train a nontechie to be a manager and keep techies hunched over their terminals for 40-plus hours a week. If it's any consolation, yours is a particularly common lament among computer professionals. Jean E. Eisel, the associate dean who oversees Carnegie Mellon University's MBA career office, hears it all the time from alumni. To avoid falling into their trap, make sure that you and the potential boss are very, very clear about what your future job would entail. Moreover, if your experience to date has been with Internet startups, you should consider giving the Fortune 500s a try.
Young companies are, understandably, very focused on getting a product perfected and to market.
They often devote their resources to that, not the niceties of managing groups, says Paul J. Perrone, chairman of the Northern Virginia chapter of the IEEE Computer Society, an organization of computer professionals. By contrast, big companies with thousands of employees who need herding relish management expertise. Once you're on the job, keep yourself on the management track. His managerial duties come first, after all. More work for him, true.