So it's quite possible they weren't refused advancement, they were offered it but turned it down Absolutely! Anecdata: I have 30++ years of experience. I enjo

So it's quite possible they weren't refused advancement, they were offered it but turned it down Absolutely! Anecdata: I have 30++ years of experience. I enjoy programming. I do not enjoy managing people. I do OK managing projects, but don't enjoy it. Especially in the first 10++ years, when I had my yearly performance review I would tell my boss "whatever you do, don't make me a manager." They tried talking me into management roles quite a few times (and succeeded occasionally getting me to fill a technical management role in projects) but have mostly honored my request. If I had gone into a (technical) management role I would likely have made a little more money but my stress level would be a lot higher and my enjoyment would have been way way lower. I've watched other engineers that went the technical management route and have been very happy with my choice. Staying heavily technical isn't the right choice for everybody, but it was absolutely the right choice for me.