Yes, this. So then those young brilliant individuals move into management because it's the only way to continue some semblance of career progression in your 30s

Yes, this. So then those young brilliant individuals move into management because it's the only way to continue some semblance of career progression in your 30s. Then a subset of the gifted technical individuals grow tired of management, step down and go back to the tech to do what they really loved all along. I've met a fair amount of brilliant engineers in their 40s/50s who have been through management and decided it's not for them and are now shining as engineers again after a decade lost to leadership roles