What happens to developers who never go into management?
> For example, people often assume that any talented developer will end up becoming a manager.I believe this thinking is harmful for this Industry.While there is some overlap between a manager and software dev they are in the end two fundamental different jobs.Sure having some understanding of software is helpful as a manager but IMHO this only includes skills up to the "mid"/"just after junior" software dev level.Sure as software dev you also need to have some resource management skills (some time management, and some potential team lead skills) but as a manger you need much much more of this skills and apply them in many more ways.So if a senior software developer becomes a manager it's wasting their potential as software developer. Similar a excellent manager doesn't need _any_ programming skills, only some understanding of the programming job and it's hurdles (which might be simplest to learn by doing programming for a few years, but there could be much more efficient ways to learn this).So IMHO if you want to go into the management path its best to start early on, and end up there around the time you reach a mid-level skill set or earlier.Similar don't push senior engineers into management positions, being very good in one doesn't entail doesn't entail being good in the other.Also please don't go around spreading bs like "if a older software dev isn't a manager yet they are incompetent and shouldn't be hired".Our industry needs more old software dev, through only such ones which continue to learn and improve their skills. Not such ones which stagnated in the past.