I'm unsure about this given I see the same attitude with loads of developers who carry a senior title, have been in the company for many years but barely outper

I'm unsure about this given I see the same attitude with loads of developers who carry a senior title, have been in the company for many years but barely outperform a junior with a few years of experience. My more cynical take is management and management-adjacent roles are easier to climb to and more abundant, pay better than the equivalent technical-only title and since managers largely decide what is going on, they'll obviously provide job security for themselves in whatever obscene way possible. At the same time culture views a manager as something noteworthy and of a higher rank already, which loops back and reinforces itself through payment, work and lifestyle, which then loops back to the way culture views it. The same can't be set for most developers who aren't at least partially dabbling into self-employment, entrepreneurship or management themselves, which then further reinforces the manager > developer mindset.