Episode #39
Designing Your Career with Chris Clark
What actually comes next after becoming a Solutions Engineer? For most SEs, the obvious answers are bigger accounts or management. Chris Clark thinks that's way too limiting. Chris spent 15 years in Solutions Engineering at companies including Slack, Salesforce, and Glean before moving into career coaching full time. We brought him on to talk through the different paths available to SEs and, more importantly, how to figure out which one is actually right for you. We get into Field CTO and evangelist roles, specialist IC paths, leadership vs. management, how AI is changing the SE role, and why you shouldn't build your career around chasing titles. Chris also puts Ryan and Sameer through a live career coaching exercise that leads to a slightly dangerous conclusion about Ryan's future as an AE. The biggest takeaway: figure out what work gives you energy, start doing more of it, and don't wait for someone else to design your career for you. Find Chris: https://www.chrisjamesclark.co.uk/ Pre-Sales Pathfinder: https://app.chrisjamesclark.co.uk/ Podcast: Pre-Sales Pathways
