Skip to content

Goodbye, Middle Manager

What’s middle management? A new study from the job-matching service  TheLadders suggests that’s a question job seekers may soon be asking.  The study shows that once-ubiquitous middle-management jobs – with  titles like “manager” and “director” – are being replaced by  skill-specific positions in the technology sector

The study analyzed keywords and phrases job seekers use to search  for jobs – along with employers’ word choices for job postings – from  TheLadders’ more than 6 million members and 60,000 employers. More than  600 job titles were analyzed between 2008 and 2013. The findings reveal  that the growth rate of titles containing the word “manager” is 25  percent lower than the national average, and the growth rate of titles  containing the word “director” is 50 percent lower. What’s more, within  the top 10 percent of growing jobs, less than 2 percent of titles  contain the word “manager” or “director.”

“Gone  are the days when pursuing a management track equates to professional  advancement,” says Amanda Augustine, TheLadders’ job search expert.  “Today, professionals can reach the same financial rewards as middle  management by building technical expertise.”

If  tech is the new middle management, what are the new hot jobs? Read more…