Article seems to omit one of the big issues I had with being an engineering manager and that was managing budgets (people/assets) and financial forecasts. I'll probably become a manager again, but I'm enjoying my break and doing "real work" again.
+1 - I had a discussion with one of my directs today as they were considering becoming an SDM. There are so many days as a manager where every moment of my time is filled with meetings and admin tasks and at the end of the day you feel like to accomplished nothing. Where as with coding you can feel like you built something and have something to show for your hours of time. I certainly miss being an IC, more and more each day..
You might individually feel like you've done nothing, but if tending to admin tasks enables your ICs to just focus on getting work done --without distraction-- you're actually a multiplying force within your organization.
This and also keep in mind that as mid mgr you become an IC to the business side of things, with its share of BS and politics. Now tell me, which one is "your team"... Mid mgr is not that much a position of power, more like a promise of decision control, but bureaucratic admin reality and twice expectations to meet.
Oh, well, there's some bright side to it too, it's all about the ppl sharing common goals, even if just for limited time. It can bring positive change.
I shifted from software engineering to technical program management because I was interested in the bigger picture of shipping software (after having been an engineer on a couple multi-year projects that floundered and failed due to mismanagement), but did not want to be personally responsible for hiring and firing people. I don’t have the constitution to make such big decisions impacting other people’s lives. :\
