[euroclydon]

I doubt you'll get hired as a manager; you need to get promoted instead. So go get a job at a large company as an engineer and spend at least six months kicking ass. The ideal company is one with some disfunction and churn -- new hires and such. Then you need to go either out or up with a bang.

Find some major problems with the software development and complain about them strongly to upper management and offer a solution.

Learn to communicate with busy people. Use short emails. Lead with the most important point in verbal and written communication. Learn to tailor your communication to your audiance. Gain the trust and respect of everyone you can. People need to look at you and think, "this guy's/gal's got it." Some will like you and others will not. If you haven't been promoted after doing all this, then straight out ask to be a manager. If you don't get it, leave and do it over.

Also, read The Power Broker [1]

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Power-Broker-Robert-Moses-Fall/dp/039...

[cauterized]

Not sure I agree about joining a dysfunctional company to that end - you're liable to either learn or be forced into terrible management habits.

That said, I couldn't agree more about communication. It's a crucial management skill and one that too few engineers develop properly (and I'm not even talking about socially awkward stereotypes). Communicating effectively with management is a very specific skill that's very different from general social communication; and communicating effectively with one's reports is yet another skillset.