From reading this comment, I think it is possible that you undervalue non-coding work. That is, I think it seems like you don't see as much value in it as some

From reading this comment, I think it is possible that you undervalue non-coding work. That is, I think it seems like you don't see as much value in it as some companies you've worked for do. There isn't really an objective measure to say whether you're more right or whether those companies are, but it's definitely the case that career trajectories are driven by what companies value rather than what lower level engineers value. But take my thoughts in this with a grain of salt: my bias is toward believing that most engineers place way too much value on coding work and not nearly enough on the (in my opinion) harder work of figuring out how to successfully execute an ambiguously defined project.