Podcast sponsored by Stream.
Maxed out on software development and ready for new challenges? Read this practical guide to discover the next role in your tech career.
If you've been in the trenches as a software developer for a while, you know the routine: code reviews, sprint planning, mentoring juniors, shipping features, fighting fires in production and probably a dozen Slack messages before lunch. It's a role that demands deep technical and people skills — but where do you go next when you've mastered this level?
I've been a software developer since 2002, with plenty of years in iOS development, but my roots run deep through many tech stacks and system architectures. These days, I'm the manager of developer relations at Stream, host of a currently dormant podcast for iOS devs, have helped organize Dutch CocoaHeads meetups for over 10 years, and am organizing the 2025 edition of an iOS Developer conference. In short, I talk code, breathe community and live for building things that work well and feel right.
If you're wondering what comes after being a software developer, you're not alone. I've asked this question myself and hear it often from folks in the community. So, let me take you through some potential paths. Not all of them will fit you, but somewhere in here is a version of "next" that might just light you up.
My journey was a simple yet fun one. After working in software development consulting for over 14 years, I switched jobs a few times. I ended up at a large insurance company with a team of iOS developers. Over my three years working there, I evolved from a senior software developer to a lead developer in a very organic fashion. Month after month, more responsibilities were added to my workload, and I got more involved in stakeholder conversations. This move happened without much deliberation. Sometimes things happen, right?
But then, I made a massive leap of faith.
I was looking for my next challenge. I felt stuck, so I thought joining a startup might be a good idea.
I had several interviews in progress, and then Anastasia, the director of talent strategy at Stream, suggested I apply for two roles at Stream: One was a senior iOS developer position within the iOS SDK team, and the other on the Developer Relations team as an iOS developer advocate. Anastasia concluded both roles might suit me because of the experience on my resume, as well as my side projects. I had organized hundreds of iOS developer meetups and a few conferences — and I was busy recording my podcast for iOS developers.
I had the luxury of being offered both jobs at Stream in 2021.
This has been the most significant red pill/blue pill moment in my career thus far.
I chose the red pill and switched to developer relations, and things developed quickly from there. My experience leading a team at the insurance company paved the way for me to become the manager of developer relations. The director of marketing asked me to take care of the day-to-day operations of DevRel within Stream. I enjoy my challenging and fulfilling role, and I hope to level up my skills for the foreseeable future.
Now that you’ve heard my story, let’s examine the top 10 career paths to consider after being a software developer.
If you like code but love sharing what you know, developer relations might be your new playground. It's a mix of education, advocacy and community-building. You're still technical, but now you're also the bridge between developers and the products they use.
What makes this fun? You write blog posts, create sample apps, give talks at conferences and help shape the product from the developer's point of view. If you're already mentoring people or writing internal docs, you're halfway there.
But heads up: you'll need to get comfortable in front of a crowd (or camera) and spend a lot more time explaining code than writing production code.
If you enjoy helping other developers grow and keeping a team running smoothly, this one's for you. Engineering managers (EMs) focus less on code and more on people, process and delivery.
You’ll do 1:1 meetings, help team members with career growth and make sure projects ship on time. It’s like upgrading from player to coach. You might not write much code day-to-day, but your impact can scale across multiple devs and teams.
Great EMs don’t just manage — they lead. That means giving feedback, unblocking people and sometimes shielding the team from chaos. If you’ve enjoyed mentoring or leading projects, this might be a natural step.
Still love solving deep technical problems? Enjoy diagramming systems more than writing user interface (UI) components? The technical architect role lets you zoom out and think about systems, not just features.
You’ll design scalable solutions, pick technologies, guide implementation and probably write some of the gnarliest but cleanest code in the repo. You’ll also help align technical direction with business goals.
The trade-off? Less day-to-day coding, more thinking and communication. It’s less about solving a bug and more about preventing a whole class of bugs before they exist.
Product management is for developers who want to shape the "why" as much as the "how." You won’t be coding, but you’ll be knee-deep in customer needs, feature prioritization and aligning dev work with business strategy.
You’ll write specs, talk to users, define roadmaps and work closely with dev teams. Your technical background helps you translate what users want and what’s technically possible.
This is a great path if you often ask, "Should we even build this?" instead of "How do we build this?"
You may love writing code and making sure it runs like clockwork. The DevOps path is perfect for people who get excited about CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, automation and making dev environments “just work.”
You’ll improve reliability, reduce deployment times and help the whole team move faster and safer. You’ll be deep into infrastructure as code, containers and cloud tooling.
If you’ve already been the person fixing broken builds or improving local dev setups, this might be a natural extension.
This one’s for folks who like variety and enjoy helping others solve tricky technical problems. Whether you're in-house or freelance, you work with clients (internal or external) to understand their challenges and recommend or build solutions.
Think of it as high-impact problem solving. You'll draw on your deep experience to design clean, scalable solutions. You might travel, write proposals and present to leadership, and you’ll definitely need strong soft skills. Your days won’t look the same, and that’s a big part of the appeal.
If you're the kind of dev who’s always organizing the roadmap, juggling deadlines and figuring out dependencies before they become blockers, TPM might be your jam.
This role is part project manager and part technologist. You’ll wrangle timelines, coordinate across teams and make sure the pieces come together. Your dev background gives you the credibility to call out risks and suggest better paths forward.
You’re not managing people — you’re managing execution. It's ideal if you love high-level visibility and cross-functional collaboration.
If you’re already in DevRel and enjoy building the machine more than being the engine, leadership roles in DevRel might be your thing. You’ll lead a team of advocates, define strategy, set goals and report impact to stakeholders.
It’s a blend of people management, program strategy and metrics. Your technical chops still matter, but now you're also building culture, hiring talent and advocating for developers at the highest levels.
Got a burning idea you can’t stop thinking about? Want full control over what you build and how you build it? Then welcome to startup life.
This path is risky, messy, exhilarating and sometimes exhausting. You’ll do everything: code, marketing, support, fundraising, hiring, product planning... you name it. But the upside? It’s all yours.
If you’ve built side projects, contributed to open source or just have a strong itch to create, this might be your ultimate career path.
If you want to scale your impact across entire departments or organizations, executive leadership might be your next step. Directors and CTOs set vision, build teams, align engineering with business goals and help the company grow through smart technology decisions.
You’ll manage managers, handle budgets, shape culture and think long-term. You might still dive into code or architecture from time to time, but your main role is to lead and guide others to success.
This is the path for folks who want to have a seat at the executive table and influence the direction of an entire company.
There’s no one-size-fits-all path after a career in software development. Some folks double down on tech, others move into leadership or product, and some go rogue and start their own thing.
The good news? Your skills are highly transferable.
The key is figuring out what energizes you. Do you love writing code or teaching others? Are you all about big-picture systems or tight product loops? Do you want to manage people or avoid them like the plague?
Whatever you choose, your next chapter is a chance to evolve, grow and shape your career on your terms.
And if you're still not sure? Start small. Pick up a side project. Write a blog post. Speak at a meetup. Mentor someone. Each small step helps you determine what "next" is right for you.
Thanks for reading. If you want to hear more like this, check out my podcast or, if you find yourself in the Netherlands, drop by a CocoaHeadsNL meetup. I am always happy to chat about careers, tech and how we can all keep growing.
