Essentially, managers put out fires.<p>Whenever I start feeling underemployed and unappreciated as a programmer, I look at what they do all day and feel thankful that I get paid to listen to some tunes, crank out a few lines of code and go home (where the real work begins).<p>The senior technical contact at my day job is a very experienced and accomplished programmer; however his entire day is spent traveling from one location to the next in meeting after meeting (a familiar story for many, I'm sure).<p>He dabbles in our project from time to time, and I think that's his only release from the mutual appreciation rituals he endures every day.