Don't become an engineering manager

EM vs IC: Different Jobs, Not a Straight Promotion

• Many argue EM is a career change, not a promotion: less coding, more people, politics, and process.
• Some enjoyed EM in smaller startups (autonomy, shaping process, mentoring) but found it bureaucratic and date-driven in big companies.
• Others strongly prefer IC work and see EM as “terminal,” owning delivery but not product roadmap or deep tech decisions.
• A minority say people who already gravitate to coordination, mentoring, and cross‑team work often thrive as EMs.

Titles, Levels, and Compensation

• Strong consensus that titles (senior, staff, principal, CTO, etc.) are highly organization‑specific and often inflated in startups.
• Within large tech companies, ladders are more standardized; “senior” is often a terminal role, staff+ is rare.
• Some say staff+ IC and EM compensation are comparable; others report managers out-earning ICs, especially at higher rungs.
• Titles are used both for comp benchmarking and for cheap “ego currency” when companies won’t raise pay.

AI’s Impact on Roles

• Disagreement on magnitude: some see AI dramatically changing daily work; others say their workflows are mostly unchanged.
• One camp thinks AI will hit ICs more (code agents, fewer devs), making EM safer.
• Another says AI actually makes EM jobs harder: more output, more initiatives, more friction to manage.
• Some foresee ICs increasingly “managing agents,” requiring skills similar to first‑line management.

Career Risk, Mobility, and Age

• EM roles seen as fewer and riskier: in layoffs or failures, EMs are often blamed and cut first.
• Others argue EM skills are more transferable across domains and face less age discrimination than senior IC roles.
• Several advise getting at least one management role on a résumé for long‑term employability.

Geography and Industry Context

• Western Europe and traditional industries often treat software as a cost center; management is the only real advancement path there.
• Dual ladders with strong staff/principal tracks are viewed as mostly a big‑tech, big‑hub phenomenon, not industry‑wide.

Meta: Article Quality and Ads

• Some see the article’s “don’t become EM” stance as overgeneralized and emotionally driven.
• The embedded sponsor segment styled like content drew criticism as deceptive and distracting.