It depends on the culture setting. If you're in a place where an IC can potentially make half a million or million dollars a year and drive some very interesti

It depends on the culture setting. If you're in a place where an IC can potentially make half a million or million dollars a year and drive some very interesting project work and be highly respected, no. If you're in a place where not making it into manager track puts a very low ceiling on earning potential and respect, then yes it can be condescending. This varies a lot by country, industry, etc.