I think it is. In my younger days I wanted to rise up so that I could work on really complex and challenging code. But now I'm there and I hardly code at all. M

I think it is. In my younger days I wanted to rise up so that I could work on really complex and challenging code. But now I'm there and I hardly code at all. Most of it is working across teams to figure out dependencies, blockers, security concerns in launching a new project. About a year in, I still don't like it much, nor do I feel like I'm good at it, even though I consider myself a good coder. I asked my manager for a transfer to a more code forward role and apparently they really don't exist at the high levels. There are some exceptions if you are a known expert in some field, but for a generalist in optimizing queries or caching patterns, there's usually someone cheaper and younger they can get to do the work.