{"id":5205,"date":"2020-09-02T22:35:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T20:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/?p=5205"},"modified":"2023-11-02T16:36:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T15:36:02","slug":"fastest-route-to-cto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/","title":{"rendered":"From Developer To CTO:  What Is the Fastest Route?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><br \/>\n  if (typeof fz === \"function\")<br \/>\n    fz(\"event\", {<br \/>\n        \"name\": \"Dev2CTOfastestroute\",<br \/>\n        \"value\": \"10\",<br \/>\n        \"unit\": \"euro\"<br \/>\n    });<br \/>\n<\/script><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-table-of-contents uagb-toc__align-left uagb-toc__columns-1  uagb-block-464bfe06 wp-block-uagb-table-of-contents uagb-toc__align-left uagb-toc__columns-undefined uagb-block-11e3509f     \"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-scroll= \"1\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-offset= \"30\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__list-wrap \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#people-skills-and-methods-are-essential-for-a-cto\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">People skills and methods are essential for a CTO<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#the-three-developer-types\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">The three developer types<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#what-is-a-cto\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">What is a CTO?<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#the-shortest-path-to-becoming-a-cto\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">The shortest path to becoming a CTO<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#against-all-odds\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Against all odds<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<p>Most <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-7fc26e64\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developers<\/span>, sooner or later, think they are good enough at their job to aspire to a higher <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-df698d28\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/career\">career<\/span> level. The most common goal is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/how-become-cto\/\">to become <strong style=\"user-select: auto;\"><span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-3d643249\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/chief_technology_officer\">CTO<\/span><\/strong><\/a> (Chief Technical Officer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is almost a &#8216;standard&#8217; <strong style=\"user-select: auto;\">path to becoming the <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-ff5c5cc9\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/chief_technology_officer\">CTO<\/span> of an <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-cdefaf05\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/educational_technology\">ICT<\/span> <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-344d7615\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">company<\/span><\/strong>. An aspiring <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-87c0bef5\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/chief_technology_officer\">CTO<\/span> should first complete studies in both technical and managerial fields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It might seem like the best way forward would be to develop a deep <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-b3b88655\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/knowledge\">knowledge<\/span> of <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-78e8c651\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/computing\">computer<\/span> science &#8211; if the goal is to be a Chief <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-3eb8cdc1\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/technology\">Technology<\/span> Officer, the main issue is surely <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-5fa53de4\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/technology\">technology<\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That achieved, the next apparently-obvious step would be to take an intensive master\u2019s course in <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-511c6768\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/business_administration\">business administration<\/span>, but perhaps that&#8217;s not the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An alternative path could be taking a full <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cedf3612\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/bachelor\"><strong>bachelor&#8217;s degree<\/strong><\/span> in managing <span id=\"urn:enhancement-50bf2250\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">companies<\/span>, so that management is your main foundation, and perhaps practicing coding as a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-723a86fc\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/hobby\">hobby<\/span>.  Then you might deepen your education with an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a4200d28\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/educational_technology\"><strong>ICT<\/strong><\/span>-related graduate programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who are already <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-663f8d08\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developers<\/span> would probably choose the first path. Being a good <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-c0282947\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span> yourself might be enough of a base from which to guide other <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-a699aaf1\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developers<\/span>, but a CTO needs a much wider vision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without a <strong style=\"user-select: auto;\">strong understanding of <\/strong>business administration,<strong style=\"user-select: auto;\"><span id=\"urn:enhancement-2f46e5a1\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/knowledge\" style=\"user-select: auto;\"><\/span><\/strong> it will be difficult to make the leap. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-27842c5b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/knowledge\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">Knowledge<\/span> can always be acquired &#8216;on the fly&#8217;, but a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1e1891ee\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/formal_learning\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">formal education<\/span> helps so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-people-skills-and-methods-are-essential-for-a-cto\">People skills and methods are essential for a CTO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a1b70b4c\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/management\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">Management<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5195d9bb\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/educational_technology\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">ICT<\/span> are described above as the required <strong style=\"user-select: auto;\"><span id=\"urn:enhancement-eee48ff5\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/skill\" style=\"user-select: auto;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/what-skills-should-you-still-practice-and-hone-as-a-cto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">skills<\/a><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/what-skills-should-you-still-practice-and-hone-as-a-cto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/what-skills-should-you-still-practice-and-hone-as-a-cto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">to become a CTO<\/a>, but there is a third branch of skills and methods to consider &#8211; competencies that are normally referred to as soft skills. Hard skills include a sound foundation in ICT, management techniques, and analytical reasoning, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/essential-soft-skills\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">shortlist of the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c67ce76c\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/soft_skills\" style=\"user-select: auto;\"><strong style=\"user-select: auto;\">soft skills<\/strong><\/span><\/a> can better help you understand what is relevant to any &#8216;C&#8217; position including <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9ddb840e\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/creativity\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">creativity<\/span>, persuasion, and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-467453df\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/collaboration\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">collaboration<\/span>. Calling these skills &#8216;soft&#8217; diminishes their apparent importance, which can lead an aspiring future CTO down a <em style=\"user-select: auto;\">cul de sac<\/em>. Cate Lawrence suggests that these <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6f162bc0\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/skill\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">skills<\/span> and methods should instead be included in a broader category of essential <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5b9b8384\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/skill\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">skills<\/span>, as discussed in the article linked to above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the starting point in this <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-81cd5a99\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/career\"><strong>career move<\/strong><\/span> is being a <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-fee22d3b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span>. But what kind of <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-c9edfff2\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span> are you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-call-to-action uagb-block-95cb6a52\"><div class=\"uagb-cta__wrap\"><h3 class=\"uagb-cta__title\"><strong>HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT<\/strong><\/h3><p class=\"uagb-cta__desc\"><a aria-label=\"4 different types of Chief Technology Officer (opens in a new tab)\" style=\"user-select: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/4-different-types-of-chief-technology-officer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">4 different types of Chief Technology Officer<\/a><br><a aria-label=\"How to handle the transition from Tech Lead to CTO (opens in a new tab)\" style=\"user-select: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/transition-tech-lead-cto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">How to handle the transition from Tech Lead to CTO<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/avoiding-a-cto-meltdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Avoiding a CTO Meltdown (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Avoiding a CTO Meltdown<\/a><\/p><\/div><div class=\"uagb-cta__buttons\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-three-developer-types\">The three developer types<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s also worth considering things from a perspective other than education. There are many categories of developer, some of which are more likely than others to lead to the desired <span id=\"urn:enhancement-62d28e4\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/chief_technology_officer\">CTO<\/span> role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is an exercise to try: search the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-abb030c9\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/internet\">Internet<\/span> for a taxonomy of <strong><span id=\"urn:enhancement-8d0bf48b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/programmer\">programmer<\/span> <\/strong>types, and see how much of yourself you recognize in each of the suggested categories. It may be even better to ask your friends and colleagues which category they think you belong to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Kari McMahon <\/em>offers a nice characterization of three different developer types in a <a aria-label=\"post (opens in a new tab)\" class=\"ek-link\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/hackernoon.com\/i-dont-like-programming-but-i-work-as-a-programmer-519a4bc66928\" target=\"_blank\">post<\/a> dated 2018:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t like programming, but I work as a programmer&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>McMahon&#8217;s taxonomy splits the developer population into three types: the get-it-dones, the techies,  and the I-don&#8217;t-wants. Let\u2019s see what defines these types, and which is best suited to becoming a CTO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Techy <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6071f599\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span><\/strong> is sensitive to society&#8217;s expectations, adores programming, and lives for technical detail.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Get-it-done dev<\/strong> is a problem solver: this type is persistent and goal-oriented.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As the title of the post suggests, there is a third type &#8211; the <strong style=\"user-select: auto;\">I-don&#8217;t-think-I-want-to-be-a-<span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-b12e1cd8\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span><\/strong>. This is someone interested in <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-410e8bdf\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/high_tech\">tech<\/span>, but who doesn&#8217;t enjoys programming, and is not a natural problem solver.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-let-s-take-a-closer-look-at-these-three-developer-types-and-how-they-relate-within-an-organization\">Let\u2019s take a closer look at these<strong> three developer types<\/strong>, and how they relate within an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e463b8e5\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/organization\">organization<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Get-it-done <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8c9a4776\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span> will probably never become a CTO unless they found their own <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4cbe8028\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">company<\/span>. This developer focuses on solutions more than on communication skills, so they will  probably be too useful to promote to high-level <span id=\"urn:enhancement-65063a19\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/job\">jobs<\/span>, and may also lack support from their colleagues and\/or bosses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The I-don&#8217;t-think-I-want-to-be-a-<span id=\"urn:enhancement-ad135b1b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span> probably found it easy to write low-level code that was good enough to provide a basic income. This developer is likely to give up after just a short time, when life&#8217;s expenses outstrip their earning potential.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This third kind of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4ef16376\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/programmer\">coder<\/span> will probably never even dream of being a CTO.  Both other types may aspire to be promoted at least to Technical <span id=\"urn:enhancement-858b2c27\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/lead\">Lead<\/span>, but with different likelihoods of success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-natural-born-cto-is-the-first-type-the-techy-developer\"><strong style=\"user-select: auto;\">The natural-born CTO is the first type, the Techy <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-402add6d\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This type is very sensitive to non-business issues and also gives serious attention to the details of business matters. As a developer, the Techy is usually complemented in their <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-e2e200c0\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/job\">job<\/span> by their Get-it-done colleagues: the two types have different vocabulary and behaviors, but can fill in each other&#8217;s gaps and cooperate without competing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Techy <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-45d38837\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developer<\/span> has a higher level of natural communicating <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-7ae59dcf\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/skill\">skills<\/span> than other <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-df5f0e90\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/programmer\">programmers<\/span>. Their interest in programming is often just due diligence before upgrading to a higher level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-a-cto\">What is a CTO?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What does arriving at the destination point on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/backend-dev\/design-your-developer-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">career path<\/a> designed above mean? A <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3ad2c11\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/chief_technology_officer\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">CTO<\/span> is a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3efb485d\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/corporate_title\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">C-level executive<\/span> with specific <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9aa62bfc\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/job\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">job<\/span> responsibilities, who also interacts with all the other stakeholders in a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3bb189bc\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/business\" style=\"user-select: auto;\">business<\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A CTO has extensive <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-3cca0214\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/knowledge\">knowledge<\/span> of <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-c0b568c3\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/educational_technology\">ICT<\/span>, information technology, technology infrastructure, product development and other <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-df5f27be\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/technology\">technologies<\/span>, a finely-honed sensitivity to the human aspects of managing development teams and process deployment, and deep comprehension of all aspects of respecting business goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A CTO must <strong style=\"user-select: auto;\">be accountable for their actions &#8211; to their <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-51ce6345\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/team\">team<\/span><\/strong>, all C-levels, and the customer base. The CTO is able to manage disruption in an area directly related to the <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-c2f7d46b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">company<\/span>\u2019s core business, so their plans need to be flexible enough to adapt to any change that should occur during any of the various steps of a digital transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> A CTO should also consider contingency plans for unpredictable scenarios.  <a style=\"user-select: auto;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-hub\/cto\/how-is-the-role-of-the-cto-evolving\/\" class=\"ek-link\">The role of CTO evolves constantly<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the &#8216;glue&#8217; that holds a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1517a96b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">company<\/span> together, a CTO is the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-de41de8b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/corporate_title\">C-level executive<\/span> most likely to eventually become a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-76fafa20\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/chief_executive_officer\">CEO<\/span>. This step is not an automatic progression, but is frequently a bonus to choosing this career path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-shortest-path-to-becoming-a-cto\">The shortest path to becoming a CTO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Assume that you are currently a Technical <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8b61bb1a\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/lead\">Lead<\/span> in your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-82d95d85\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">company<\/span>. Your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-be752e9e\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/educational_technology\">ICT<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-afaf1a8f\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/knowledge\">knowledge<\/span> and soft <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d00e2e46\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/skill\">skills<\/span> make you a good choice to take the next step in your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d0382ad0\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/career\">career<\/span>. You are improving your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6ce05365\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/business\">business<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4f101915\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/social\">social<\/span> competencies in your spare time, and your goal is to become a CTO in a shorter time than is usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You feel ready for a promotion? You have three choices: start your own business, seek out promotion, or hire your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-124e7586\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/knowledge\">knowledge<\/span> out as a consultant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-start-a-brand-new-company-from-scratch\">1. Start a brand-new company from scratch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The shortest possible path is to be the boss and choose yourself as the CTO. This means founding a <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-e25b5af3\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">company<\/span>, probably with some partners &#8211; there is no need for these to be friends of long standing &#8211; and building everything from scratch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This <span style=\"user-select: auto;\" id=\"urn:enhancement-edae63a0\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">company<\/span> can be either a small business or a start-up: in either case, it will be necessary to finance your activity with money from various sources, which may include your own resources, those of your founding partners, money from founders&#8217; friends and relatives, public grants (local, nationwide, or global), prizes, crowdfunding, and venture capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Obviously a start-up can be run by an inexperienced management team, but let&#8217;s assume this is not the case here, with a founder who started their <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8cbdae3b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/career\">career<\/span> as a developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other possibilities might include buying an existing <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dffd2cfc\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/company\">company<\/span>, choosing a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5c6d34b5\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/business\">business<\/span> with a structure and staff that closely resemble what you would choose to build. This choice does usually require having a huge amount of money available to invest, which is rare among young <span id=\"urn:enhancement-89088a5d\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01770\/entity\/software_developer\">developers<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you choose the fast track, there is the &#8216;one-million&#8217; downside to consider: one million things to do all at once, one million new responsibilities. That&#8217;s the choice you are making, certainly, but not everybody can handle all of this from the start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be prepared to fail without fear: you&#8217;ll inevitably miss the goal more than once in the course of your career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-being-promoted\">2. Being promoted<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many roles in the big developer families. Assuming you are good enough, investigate how to be promoted to Technical Lead. While perfecting and updating your computing skills, study business management (focus on your company&#8217;s business) and improve your communication skills within the company and software communities, as well as online (social networks). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s not easy to do all of this at the same time, particularly if you also have a private life to maintain, but if you want to become the boss&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any advancement in your career can occur either inside your current company or by joining a different company. This is one reason for spending plenty of time on the main specialized social networks and at community events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are the best places to gain new insights and points of view &#8211; and to let people know who you are, just in case they need you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime, as a very good developer, continue to take care of projects within your current company, which will save both time and money when you become Technical Lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Technical Lead is an intermediate step, not an arrival point. The goal is to be a CTO, so find opportunities to demonstrate your technical mastery and communication skills to your superiors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then, all that is left to do is to watch and wait for an opportunity to turn your goal into your reality. Or perhaps not&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-combine-short-term-experiences\">3. Combine short-term experiences<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>From time to time, company managements display a tendency to look outside the company for a temporary source of technical expertise. Outsourcing has always been an option, and now this paradigm is applied to technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This trend has become known as &#8220;<strong style=\"user-select: auto;\">CTO as a service<\/strong>&#8220;, or <strong style=\"user-select: auto;\">CTOaaS<\/strong>, a name taken from marketing terminology for cloud services. The term covers basic business requests from companies whose core business is not in ICT: using CTOaaS, they can simply buy consultancy, avoiding adding one more C-level executive to the board of directors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Europe, GPRS-related positions display a similar trend; although most involved are primarily legal consultants, many &#8211; if not all- have a good knowledge of ICT and previous experience with digital technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This option offers two ways in which an individual can profit: directly, as a consultant, or indirectly, through a company. Both choices provide good CTO experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many consulting companies now offer this kind of service, in many regions of the world. A simple Internet search will create a long list of companies that provide this service as well as other possibilities (including financing). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such companies operate not only in English-speaking environments &#8211; <a aria-label=\"here (opens in a new tab)\" class=\"ek-link ek-link\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iot-valley.fr\/accelerateur-startup\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>, for instance, is an opportunity for a French speaker &#8211; and are likely to hire Technical Leads or CTOs from small businesses. This sort of work can be a good opportunity to gain valuable expertise that will help you to become a fully-fledged CTO in a short time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While working for companies like this, step-up your online social activity and time spent in tech communities. Give presentations about what you are studying or working on, and consider publishing your content on a guru or tech blog. You might even find starting a newsletter useful for your career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[jwp-video n=&#8221;1&#8243;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-against-all-odds\">Against all odds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Experience wins against all odds, especially in uncertain times. The traditional educational path can prove overly one-dimensional for today\u2019s challenges, and too rigid to allow for agility in decision making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This doesn\u2019t mean that less knowledge and experience is needed, but that being a suitable CTO requires studying for shorter periods and in less structured ways.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today&#8217;s CTO needs to be prepared to face many challenges that older colleagues may not have encountered in their CTO positions. The time is now, so speed up and keep up with the pace!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most developers, sooner or later, think they are good enough at their job to aspire to a higher career level. The most common goal is to become CTO (Chief Technical Officer). There is almost a &#8216;standard&#8217; path to becoming the CTO of an ICT company. An aspiring CTO should first complete studies in both technical&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":8,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[4209,43],"collections":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cto","8":"tag-careers","9":"tag-soft-skills","10":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From Developer To CTO: What Is the Fastest Route? - Codemotion Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To transition from a dev to a CTO career, you need several foundations to guess technical and managerial updates, and to foster your best human qualities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Developer To CTO: What Is the Fastest Route?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To transition from a dev to a CTO career, you need several foundations to guess technical and managerial updates, and to foster your best human qualities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Codemotion Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Codemotion.Italy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-02T20:35:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-02T15:36:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/two-women-looking-at-the-code-at-laptop-1181263-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1011\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Sorge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CodemotionIT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CodemotionIT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Sorge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Leo Sorge\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/99fe84861e17797989e16094aac727d5\"},\"headline\":\"From Developer To CTO: What Is the Fastest Route?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-02T20:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-02T15:36:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/\"},\"wordCount\":1965,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/two-women-looking-at-the-code-at-laptop-1181263-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Careers\",\"Soft Skills\"],\"articleSection\":[\"CTO\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/dev-life\/cto\/fastest-route-to-cto\/\",\"name\":\"From Developer To CTO: What Is the Fastest Route? 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