>always been incredibly stressed about their job, and always have way too much to do. So, no different from any other dedicate IC or manager at these companies

>always been incredibly stressed about their job, and always have way too much to do. So, no different from any other dedicate IC or manager at these companies? >I've also never really liked the idea of engineering managers who are technical enough to approve/veto tech decisions that team members make, since there's a power imbalance there. How is this different from any other manager or higher up making decisions? If your boss or boss's boss really wants something and you're not in a good market, it's never a good time to poke your head out.