Charity always has interesting things to say on the subject of balancing engineering management and individual contribution. I’d recommend all of the further reading blog posts she links at the top of this one:
People management gets such a bad rep for good reason. It's usually a combination of the worst performers with the 10x performers following the Dilbert & Peter principle respectfully.
But people management is one of the most noble careers you can have if it’s practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute to the success of a team. Too bad it's filled with MBAs & low performing ex-ICs.
Great people managers like the article mentions are worth their weight in gold. They are usually the great individual contributors who never wanted to be a manager, but decide they have to be a manager to get the job done.
People who are good at people management, usually just run their own small businesses.
If people only knew how much money someone running a 5-10 person house renovation or whatever company makes, they'd be really surprised.
Corporate life is filled with clueless people because the ones with a clue are quietly making a lot of money for sending low skilled, somewhat easily replaceable people to work on their behalf.
I liked this and the linked Pendulum essay a lot. I've never actually met a senior dev who wants to be a manager (and I've tried to convince several); perhaps the idea that you can still go back to programming will help me convince one of them to try it.
Company culture helps a lot. I'm lucky to work at a company with a culture where, if you're a good IC and you want to manage, you can, and if it isn't your thing, you can go back to being an IC. I've done it myself.
Have folks had success at offering to be a junior dev to learn a skill? (Eg I’d love to learn how to set up these complex ML systems and play with data… but I don’t have much formal experience)
Beyond that, I feel this anxiety about leaving management so hard. I’ve been managing for 3-4 years now and I worry my skills are too atrophied.
I miss being able to create and solve problems in the back of my mind.
But then it feels hard giving up the ability to influence direction and take care of people.
But my heart is happiest when I’m mentoring someone or talking how to deal with a tough problem. I barely get to do that anymore :(
> What if I never get another shot at people management?
I had to laugh at this; Charity then goes on to do an excellent job of dispelling this myth/concern. If you were the least bit good at it, you’ll get another shot (or many additional shots). What she writes tracks well with my observations.
Even if you suck, tremendously, at management, if you're the least bit good at programming people will never stop trying to push you into management. (The Peter Principle in action!)
- The Engineer / Manager Pendulum: https://charity.wtf/2017/05/11/the-engineer-manager-pendulum...
- Engineering Management: The Pendulum Or The Ladder: https://charity.wtf/2019/01/04/engineering-management-the-pe...
- If Management Isn’t A Promotion, Engineering Isn’t A Demotion: https://charity.wtf/2020/09/06/if-management-isnt-a-promotio... (discussed at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24444644)