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This puts words over why I don't want to be promoted. I've watched enough VPs looking enviously at the seemingly stress free life (comparatively speaking) of lo

• seneca 2y ago
  You're not wrong. Upper management is a very stressful grind with little glory. It used to be that it was paid very well to compensate for that, but staff engineer jobs are close enough in comp now that the difference in stress becomes really questionable.
  • astrange 2y ago
    …What do they actually do all day? I understand what line managers do just fine, but our company works on a process where important projects are supervised by a VP, which really leaves you with the feeling that you never see what the directors are doing. Presumably they're doing something. Although my last one got fired because everyone under him thought he was useless, so maybe not. Reading the article, it also makes them sound useless because it just says it's okay if they have an excuse for failing.
    • seneca 2y ago
      It very much depends on the company and size of the team. A lot of it is planning, filling gaps, coordinating with other teams, and endless meetings. I get that that can sound like valueless filler, but it's actually more important than you'd think if you've never seen the sausage made, so to speak. It's basically trying to turn ambiguous mandates from above into actionable plans.