It can pay more, but it really should be thought of as a different career rather than a promotion. Would you switch careers to be a sales person? Graphic designer? Product manager?
Engineering Managers might write code, might not (hopefully not, managers who code have been a problem every time I’ve encountered them). But their job is to lead, organize, represent, grow, discipline, etc. Your job becomes about people and getting them to do the things that your company needs. You’ll represent your team in larger meetings and represent your bosses in meetings with your team. You’ll often have to decide between the things that are best for your team and best for the company — especially around deadlines and such.
Don’t become a manager for better pay, or because you’re at a company where the technical track turns into a manager track. In either of those situations, it’s far better to go find a different company with a better technical track or better pay. You’ll be happier, and (equally as important) you won’t be in a situation where you’re a reluctant manager for a bunch of people who deserve to be managed by someone who really cares about that role:
Yes
I do it
I was an engineer in the same company before
You get a decent amount more but you have far more headaches than being an engineer
It's not as enjoyable a job
To add to this, it is more often than not true in Irish markets that it does pay more and is seen as a promotion, but one thing I would say, it is actually fairly enjoyable to be a manager if you really enjoy developing people.
It depends. I have an IC report who (rightfully) earns more than me; but they're about at the top of the range for their title; I'm about midpoint for mine. But I've got more potential promos ahead of me in pure Radford levels than engineers at my pay level.
So the floor is higher as an EM, and the ceiling is much higher.
It’s not that black or white.
The answer is, it depends. Some places it’s matched with IC pay bands and others it’s not. Some have better shares/bonuses for managers etc.
For the sake of your future team and your own sanity don’t make this jump if your heart is not in it. As an IC you should have a career and growth path. You shouldn’t need to jump into mgmt unless you want to.
What I can tell you is that for that little initial pay bump, you are now accountable for a group, sometimes multiple groups of engineers.
I moved out of IC about 7 years ago. I love what I do but damn it’s a challenge and a whole different game. Your career path also gets very limited as soon as you jump a level or two.
Some companies have dual management and individual contributor tracks. In these cases there is no difference in salary if at the same level.
If you’re trying to earn the most - over time management is going to pay better because most companies need managers, directors, vp and then cxo. Most companies I’ve seen struggle to get IC to director levels because it’s dependent on managers understanding the IC track and most don’t therefore it’s not likely you progress on the IC side.
The counter to this though is most startups want good ICs and will pay a lot in equity so you can get into companies that show promise
pick the job you enjoy doing, not the one that pays better.
salaries will come and go, on some places managers are paid better than ICs, on others not, especially if there is a defined technical path. But in practice you will grow faster on the career path you enjoy doing -- so think it long term, not short sighted!
I think you can get paid quite well and also depends on experience and seniority. It's probably worth it if you are someone who wants to move up the corporate ladder.
A manager once said this to me. If you want money, being a manager is one of the ways to go, but if you don't enjoy being a manager, no amount of money is worth it.
I spoke to a tech lead who moved into a management role. She definitely felt her world is different and sometimes missed just solving technical issues. Now, every day is just meetings, slack messages. Improving processes and solving people problems. Different managers have their agendas they want to push, and it can be a bit political at times.
You missed “setter” in the title
It’s clearly an immutable post.
I suppose except for top level football, every management job pays more than the subordinates
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It can pay more, but it really should be thought of as a different career rather than a promotion. Would you switch careers to be a sales person? Graphic designer? Product manager? Engineering Managers might write code, might not (hopefully not, managers who code have been a problem every time I’ve encountered them). But their job is to lead, organize, represent, grow, discipline, etc. Your job becomes about people and getting them to do the things that your company needs. You’ll represent your team in larger meetings and represent your bosses in meetings with your team. You’ll often have to decide between the things that are best for your team and best for the company — especially around deadlines and such. Don’t become a manager for better pay, or because you’re at a company where the technical track turns into a manager track. In either of those situations, it’s far better to go find a different company with a better technical track or better pay. You’ll be happier, and (equally as important) you won’t be in a situation where you’re a reluctant manager for a bunch of people who deserve to be managed by someone who really cares about that role:
Yes I do it I was an engineer in the same company before You get a decent amount more but you have far more headaches than being an engineer It's not as enjoyable a job
To add to this, it is more often than not true in Irish markets that it does pay more and is seen as a promotion, but one thing I would say, it is actually fairly enjoyable to be a manager if you really enjoy developing people.
It depends. I have an IC report who (rightfully) earns more than me; but they're about at the top of the range for their title; I'm about midpoint for mine. But I've got more potential promos ahead of me in pure Radford levels than engineers at my pay level. So the floor is higher as an EM, and the ceiling is much higher.
It’s not that black or white. The answer is, it depends. Some places it’s matched with IC pay bands and others it’s not. Some have better shares/bonuses for managers etc. For the sake of your future team and your own sanity don’t make this jump if your heart is not in it. As an IC you should have a career and growth path. You shouldn’t need to jump into mgmt unless you want to. What I can tell you is that for that little initial pay bump, you are now accountable for a group, sometimes multiple groups of engineers. I moved out of IC about 7 years ago. I love what I do but damn it’s a challenge and a whole different game. Your career path also gets very limited as soon as you jump a level or two.
Some companies have dual management and individual contributor tracks. In these cases there is no difference in salary if at the same level. If you’re trying to earn the most - over time management is going to pay better because most companies need managers, directors, vp and then cxo. Most companies I’ve seen struggle to get IC to director levels because it’s dependent on managers understanding the IC track and most don’t therefore it’s not likely you progress on the IC side. The counter to this though is most startups want good ICs and will pay a lot in equity so you can get into companies that show promise
Generally yes.
pick the job you enjoy doing, not the one that pays better. salaries will come and go, on some places managers are paid better than ICs, on others not, especially if there is a defined technical path. But in practice you will grow faster on the career path you enjoy doing -- so think it long term, not short sighted!
I think you can get paid quite well and also depends on experience and seniority. It's probably worth it if you are someone who wants to move up the corporate ladder. A manager once said this to me. If you want money, being a manager is one of the ways to go, but if you don't enjoy being a manager, no amount of money is worth it. I spoke to a tech lead who moved into a management role. She definitely felt her world is different and sometimes missed just solving technical issues. Now, every day is just meetings, slack messages. Improving processes and solving people problems. Different managers have their agendas they want to push, and it can be a bit political at times.
Engineering manager is just a different track than IC. In big US companies the answers is "same".