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I think this is a good point, but it really feeds into one of the ongoing set of conversations that are happening on HN. One thing we keep coming back to is wha

I think this is a good point, but it really feeds into one of the ongoing set of conversations that are happening on HN. One thing we keep coming back to is what an engineer gets promoted into. We repeatedly come to the conclusion that management (often) isn't the right career path and that technical seniority is important. But when you look at the really senior levels for engineers those management skills start to re-emerge. It's how you relate the engineering to the business and how you influence others. In this way you're actually taking on a management skillset, without necessarily taking on the direct responsibility. Too often engineers want it all -they want the responsibility of a new grad coder with the title of an architect. If you start looking at senior engineering roles in line with the cousins in management or sales you realise you need a much more broad background to reach those top levels.

stingraycharles 8y ago
I think the problem is that career path has multiple directions, as does seniority. Principal developer is just a label slapped on technical people that have management chops, as described in the article. If “the most successful career path” is defined by financial compensation, it should be no surprise that those techies that also master the broader art of business and management add more value to the organization and are thus compensated accordingly. Would they be able to replace that very senior distributed systems engineer? Maybe, but more likely it’s a different type of value added to the organization.
JamesBarney 8y ago
I think another reason developers are reluctant to join management is there is this gap between developers and upper management. In upper management you're making enough money and have risen high enough you'll land on your feet. But before you make it there, you're stuck in middle management. In a lot of ways it's better to be a sr. dev or tech lead than middle management. The starting salary at any company is higher, you're more sought after, and you are usually keeping a valuable skill up to date. Where as project managers usually add value through their knowledge of the organization and application which is less transferable. My LinkedIn is peppered with lots of smart and capable project managers who didn't quite make it to upper management(usually because they weren't sharks) so they switched out of software or are stuck at jobs they don't like.

stingraycharles 8y ago

I think the problem is that career path has multiple directions, as does seniority. Principal developer is just a label slapped on technical people that have management chops, as described in the article. If “the most successful career path” is defined by financial compensation, it should be no surprise that those techies that also master the broader art of business and management add more value to the organization and are thus compensated accordingly. Would they be able to replace that very senior distributed systems engineer? Maybe, but more likely it’s a different type of value added to the organization.

JamesBarney 8y ago

I think another reason developers are reluctant to join management is there is this gap between developers and upper management. In upper management you're making enough money and have risen high enough you'll land on your feet. But before you make it there, you're stuck in middle management. In a lot of ways it's better to be a sr. dev or tech lead than middle management. The starting salary at any company is higher, you're more sought after, and you are usually keeping a valuable skill up to date. Where as project managers usually add value through their knowledge of the organization and application which is less transferable. My LinkedIn is peppered with lots of smart and capable project managers who didn't quite make it to upper management(usually because they weren't sharks) so they switched out of software or are stuck at jobs they don't like.