At Hewlett Packard they attempted to solve this very dilemma by instituting a program, aptly named the "Technical Career Path". I have heard that in the past, n

At Hewlett Packard they attempted to solve this very dilemma by instituting a program, aptly named the "Technical Career Path". I have heard that in the past, numerous decades ago, this program worked exceptionally well. They had programmers and engineers and such who were treated (paid and given the prestige) the same as executively level management without ever having to manage. They could actually keep coding or engineering successfully and when asked about their career path they could easily point in a direction that made sense for their skill sets. In fact, if you got into management, even technical management, you were removed from the Technical Career Path. Times have changed it seems. Now, even at HP, in order to get raises, bonuses, and prestige, you have to get into a management path. Your career ceiling is quite low in a Technical Path.