
Career Paths in Tech, Part 2: Why Choose the Management Path?
Exploring the realities, challenges, and rewards of transitioning from a technical role to engineering management in modern tech organizations.
HN readers: Based on the thread of my previous post about staying an IC, this piece addresses the real toll of management and the false IC/management dichotomy.
Having spent years straddling both technical leadership and management roles, I've noticed something interesting: we often frame the management track as an inevitable progression, the natural "next step" for senior engineers. But here's what I've learned from my own journey and from mentoring countless engineers: the path to engineering management isn't just about being good at coding – it's about finding joy in a completely different set of challenges.
Why This Conversation Matters Now
I remember my own transition into management vividly. I was the technical lead who could solve any coding problem thrown my way, but nothing quite prepared me for the moment when my success became more about enabling others than writing code myself. That's why I believe this conversation is crucial – because the leap to management isn't just a promotion, it's a career change.
Let me share something personal that really drives this point home.
During a critical milestone, I found myself coordinating across multiple third-party partners and departments. The days blurred into an endless stream of back-to-back meetings. Every hour brought new context switching, complex technical decisions to explain, and different stakeholder needs to mediate.
After five days of this non-stop coordination, my body gave out. I ended up in the hospital with a throat injury that left me unable to sleep from the pain. While this many meetings aren't ideal, sometimes major initiatives demand this level of intense coordination.
That hospital visit taught me a crucial lesson about the very real physical demands of management and the importance of setting sustainable boundaries.
The Real Job of an Engineering Manager
Let me bust a common myth right away: if you think being an engineering manager means being the "boss developer" who makes all the technical decisions, you're in for a surprise. Here's what actually fills my days:
People Development: I spend more time in one-on-ones discussing career goals and personal challenges than I do reviewing code. Just yesterday, I helped an engineer work through their anxiety about public speaking for an upcoming demo – something no amount of technical expertise could have prepared me for.
Strategic Thinking: Instead of solving technical problems directly, I'm constantly asking questions like "Are we building the right thing?" and "How does this align with our company's goals?" It's a different kind of problem-solving that looks at the bigger picture.
Building Team Culture: One of my proudest achievements isn't a technical solution – it's building a team where junior engineers feel confident enough to challenge senior developers' ideas. That kind of psychological safety takes months of intentional culture building.
The Hidden Challenges of Management
When I mentor potential managers, I make sure they understand these less-discussed aspects of the role:
Emotional Labor: You'll carry the weight of your team's challenges, from their career frustrations to their personal struggles. I remember spending sleepless nights worried about how to help a talented engineer who was burning out – something I never experienced as an IC.
Delayed Gratification: As an engineer, you're used to the immediate satisfaction of seeing your code work. Push to production, run the tests, and boom – instant validation. Management? It's a whole different game.
I often think of management impact like steering a massive oil tanker. The initial moves feel subtle, almost imperceptible. Take when I led a company-wide overhaul of our issue reporting system. For months, it felt like we were just pushing paper and debating processes. But once it clicked into place? We transformed how the entire organization identified and solved problems.
These deep organizational changes don't give you that instant hit of dopamine you get from coding. They take months, sometimes years, to fully materialize. But when they do, the scale of impact is worth every moment of patience.
Context Switching: Your day will be fragmented into 30-minute chunks, constantly switching between different people's needs and perspectives. If you love long stretches of focused work, this can be particularly challenging.
Signs Management Might Be Your Path
Through years of observing successful transitions, I've noticed these indicators that someone might thrive in management:
- You find yourself naturally thinking about team dynamics and how to make the group more effective
- Your favorite part of being a senior engineer is mentoring others and seeing them grow
- You're comfortable with ambiguity and enjoy finding clarity in complex situations
- You're energized by conversations about people and process, not just technical challenges
- You're willing to trade the immediate satisfaction of solving technical problems for the long-term impact of developing others
Making the Transition Successfully
If you're considering management, here are strategies I've seen work well:
1. Start Small
Take on team lead responsibilities while still in your IC role. I always recommend leading a small project team first – it's a safe way to test if you enjoy the coordination aspects of management.
2. Develop Your People Skills
Start building your emotional intelligence muscle. Practice active listening in your current role, and work on giving constructive feedback to peers. These skills will be your new technical stack.
3. Find a Mentor
Connect with experienced engineering managers who can give you honest insights about the role. The best career decisions I've made came after candid conversations with managers I admired.
4. Prepare for the Identity Shift
Accept that your source of pride and accomplishment will change. Instead of being known for your technical solutions, you'll be known for your team's success and your people's growth.
The Reality Check
Let me be crystal clear about something: Management isn't a promotion – it's a career change. I've seen too many excellent engineers become mediocre managers because they saw it as the next step up rather than a step in a different direction.
Let me share a few key insights that took me time to fully appreciate:
Your relationship with code will fundamentally change. While you might still get your hands dirty with the occasional PR review or technical spike, your primary focus shifts to people, processes, and organizational structures. I still cherish those rare moments when I can dig into code, but I've learned to find equal satisfaction in seeing my team ship features I helped shape through architecture discussions and strategic planning.
Success becomes more nuanced and harder to measure. Gone are the days when you could point to a specific feature or bug fix and say "I built that." Instead, your wins might look like a smoother deployment process, a more collaborative team culture, or a well-executed reorganization that unlocked new efficiencies. Learning to recognize and celebrate these less tangible victories takes time, but it's crucial for your satisfaction in the role.
And here's something crucial: while some companies might give you space to stay technically involved, it's important to be realistic about your bandwidth. Your calendar will fill up with one-on-ones, planning sessions, and cross-functional meetings. The trick isn't to fight this shift, but to find ways to stay technically informed while excelling at your new responsibilities.
Conclusion
The decision to move into management should never be about prestige or traditional notions of career advancement. It should be about where you can make your best contribution and find the most fulfillment.
Remember: The tech industry needs great managers just as much as it needs great engineers. The key is being honest with yourself about which role truly energizes you.
If you're considering this path, take time to shadow managers, try out leadership responsibilities gradually, and reflect deeply on what truly motivates you. The best managers I know aren't the ones who were the best engineers – they're the ones who genuinely love the human side of technology.