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It's been over a decade since I've worked at a company with managers. However, it was common for the top programmers to make more money than their managers ther
by goatinaboat 6y ago
It's been over a decade since I've worked at a company with managers. However, it was common for the top programmers to make more money than their managers there.
Programming and managing are completely different jobs that accomplish different things for the organisation, but they are typically arranged in a top-down fashion, the manager has power over the programmer. A manager's job is to do the function of interacting with the wider organisation in order to determine the best way for the programmer to spend his time, in effect it's a research job, then he presents the programmer with the results of his research and they both agree that the most value can be added to the organisation by working on bug X today instead of feature Y. But what actually happens is the manager says "do this, because I said so, and if you don't I'll block your next raise". Or so-called engineering managers cherry-pick the most rewarding work for themselves and assign the unfulfilling work to subordinates as punishment. That's deeply dysfunctional but it's what happens when you have a group who wants to do real work, and another group who has plenty of time on their hands for full-time politicking.
- ochronus 6y agoThere are companies where managers are truly in a supporting function. I'm not here to advertise but my last two jobs were like that.
- goatinaboat 6y agohere are companies where managers are truly in a supporting function. I'm not here to advertise but my last two jobs were like that Unless programmers have equal knowledge of and input into their managers salary as their manager does in their's, there's still that fundamental top-down structure.
- mtberatwork 6y agoI am doubtful. If the managers are writing the performance reviews, they are not in a supporting function at all. They are the arbiters of the subordinate's success in the company and that is a vertical relationship.
- Pasorrijer 6y agoI agree. I work in a matrixed consulting organization. I have a "People Lead" who guides my career development, and I'm handed off onto projects to "Project Leads" who guide the day to day. And I use the word guide intentionally. When I'm staffed to a project, my role as a project member is to look for the project lead for finance and schedule and PM direction, and maybe to a principal consultant if there is one to guide technical direction, but I'm an IC and expected to do my work. My People lead solicits feedback from those I work with, the project leads etc. But is disconnected from my day to day, so there's no feeling of power, just a willingness to help me with my goals.