I started my career as an engineer and advanced pretty quickly into engineering management. During the bubble, I probably hired over hundred engineers. I learned a lot about hiring, mostly by making mistakes. When I transitioned to Sr. Project Manager I was able to apply some of my experience hiring technical people, but I also learned a whole new set of lessons - Without engineers, nothing would get built. Without sales people, nothing is sold. Without designers, the product looks like crap. But in a world without PMs, everyone simply fills in the gap and goes on with their lives. It's important to remember that - as a PM, you're expendable.