The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Senior Technical Support Specialist (L2)
2-3 years at L2Skills to master
- Deep product knowledge, advanced troubleshooting, independent problem-solving, strong customer communication, informal mentorship of new hires.
You're ready to move on when
- You're consistently handling the toughest tickets and rarely need to escalate to your Team Lead.
- Junior colleagues regularly come to you for help and advice, and you enjoy guiding them.
- You've taken the initiative to improve processes or documentation within your current role.
- You actively participate in bug triage or cross-functional meetings, offering valuable technical insights.
- 2
Technical Account Manager (TAM) / Customer Success Manager (CSM)
3-5 years in a TAM/CSM roleSkills to master
- Proactive customer relationship management, understanding customer business objectives, technical consulting, project management for integrations/onboarding, advocating for customer needs internally.
You're ready to move on when
- You have a strong technical background and can confidently discuss complex integrations or APIs with customers.
- You're skilled at balancing customer expectations with product capabilities.
- You've managed a portfolio of high-value customers and understand their technical challenges.
- You enjoy being the technical point of contact and solving problems for key accounts.
- 3
Junior Software Engineer (with support experience)
2-4 years as a Junior Engineer + 2-3 years in supportSkills to master
- Coding proficiency (e.g., Python, JavaScript), understanding of software development lifecycle, debugging code, experience with version control (Git), strong empathy for customer issues.
You're ready to move on when
- You've worked on the engineering side but missed the direct customer interaction and problem-solving aspect.
- You have a deep understanding of how software is built and deployed, which aids in troubleshooting.
- You're keen to apply your coding skills to improve support tooling or automate processes.
- You enjoy translating technical complexities for non-technical audiences.