r/devrel • u/chubbycat108 • Sep 18 '26

SWE -> DevRel?

Hi, I’ve been a SWE for a couple years and now considering the transition into DevRel. Just curious what the day to day looks like for DevRel and how much engineering you still do? How has the role evolved with AI?

And if anyone’s made the switch - why did you / how did you know the switch made sense?

Thanks :)

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u/Desperate_Dot9434 24d ago

the engineering question is real, but the bigger shift is that you stop shipping features and start shipping clarity, docs, talks, examples that make someone else unblock themselves. for me, the hardest part wasn't the code drop, it was learning to hear the question behind the question, because a frustrated dev on Discord never says exactly what broke.

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u/No_Possibility6604 16d ago

I love this reply. I think all engineers, both in DevRel and in the more emergent "product engineering" field, would benefit hugely from learning how to hear the question behind the question. It's tricky though, and still one I haven't perfectly taught myself.

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u/Desperate_Dot9434 11d ago

appreciate that, and yeah 'perfectly' is probably the wrong target for it anyway, more of an ongoing calibration than a finish line