> That’s not true either. Who’s the highest compensated person at Square? Is he a manager or an IC?
> The root poster is absolutely correct. The responses that say you can have a great life without climbing to the top of the highest ladder are also correct, but they aren’t refuting what the root post says.
> Also, while things look pretty rosy for senior ICs right now, I wonder how many people lauding that path are in their forties or older. It’s one thing to be a respected principal engineer in a strong economy but what about if we hit another recession and your third wave tech company gets bought out by IBM?
I was with you until the very last part of the very last sentence. In my experience, often times where there is management duplication they will trim management (we don't need _all_ of these engineering managers do we?) but keep performing ICs.
That’s true, probably slightly less likely to be fired than a middle manager, though your salary is going to be a juicy target. But if you do it’s a lot less scary interviewing while middle aged for manager roles than it is for IC roles.
Age discrimination in this industry is very real (notwithstanding the tired excuses we see in every thread on the subject.)
People that are in their late 20s or early 30s need to start thinking about this. Right now you’re the age that the industry loves for “senior” ICs but mid 30s come on fast.
This was a major motivator for me going into management. I don't necessarily like the role more, and overall there are fewer jobs for engineering managers than there are for engineers. Yet as I get older (and I'm not that old either) I feel I have much more long-term job security and stability in being a manager.
> The root poster is absolutely correct. The responses that say you can have a great life without climbing to the top of the highest ladder are also correct, but they aren’t refuting what the root post says.
> Also, while things look pretty rosy for senior ICs right now, I wonder how many people lauding that path are in their forties or older. It’s one thing to be a respected principal engineer in a strong economy but what about if we hit another recession and your third wave tech company gets bought out by IBM?
I was with you until the very last part of the very last sentence. In my experience, often times where there is management duplication they will trim management (we don't need _all_ of these engineering managers do we?) but keep performing ICs.