I think this is the path for most "software engineers". You move up the ranking to Sr. or Principle then you have a choice between; 1) Management 2) Architect

I think this is the path for most "software engineers". You move up the ranking to Sr. or Principle then you have a choice between; 1) Management 2) Architect 3) Entrepreneur 4) Product Manager All of them have their own ups and down so it all depends on what you love doing.