You Are About to Destroy Your Safety Net.
You’ve been a Senior Developer for 3 years. You are crushing it. The code is clean. The team respects you. Your boss pulls you into a room. "We want you to become the Engineering Manager (EM)."
They offer a 10% raise. They talk about "Impact" and "Leadership." You say yes because you think it’s the next logical step.
It isn't. Becoming a Manager is not a promotion. It is a Career Change. You are quitting your job as a "Builder" to take a job as a "Therapist."
And in 2025, this is the most dangerous move you can make. Here is why smart engineers refuse the promotion and stay on the "Individual Contributor" (IC) track.
1. The "Skill Rot" (The One-Way Door)
As a developer, your safety net is your code. If you get fired today, you can pass a LeetCode interview tomorrow and get a new job. Your skills are liquid assets.
As a Manager, your skills rot.
- Month 1: You stop coding to attend meetings.
- Month 6: You don't know the new framework the team is using.
- Year 1: You are terrified of opening the IDE because you feel stupid.
If you get laid off after 2 years of management, you are unhireable. You can't pass a Senior Dev interview (you forgot how to code). You can't pass a Manager interview (because you only have 2 years of experience). You are stuck in career purgatory.
2. The "Staff Engineer" Loophole (More Money, Less Politics)
The biggest lie HR tells you is: "The only way to make more money is to manage people." False.
The "Staff / Principal Engineer" track pays more than the Manager track.
- Staff Engineer: $220k - $350k. Solves hard technical problems. Zero direct reports.
- Engineering Manager: $190k - $240k. Solves people problems. 8 direct reports.
Companies pay for scarcity. Good managers are hard to find. Good Staff Engineers are impossible to find. Stay technical. The money follows the code, not the calendar invites.
3. The "Shield" Role (Emotional Exhaustion)
You think Management is about strategy. In reality, Management is about Protection. Your job is to be the "Shield" for your team.
- When the CEO demands a feature in 2 days, you have to say no (and get yelled at).
- When a Junior dev is crying because of burnout, you have to listen.
- When layoffs happen, you have to fire the people you hired.
It is emotionally draining. You don't get the dopamine hit of "Shipping Code." You only get the stress of "Managing Chaos." If you are an introvert who loves flow state, Management will put you on antidepressants.
The Real Numbers: IC vs. Manager
I pulled the salary and "Time Spent" data for 2025.
| Metric | Senior Staff Engineer (IC) | Engineering Manager (EM) |
|---|---|---|
| Average Salary | $245,000 | $215,000 |
| Deep Work (Coding) | 60% of week | 0% of week |
| Meetings | 20% of week | 80% of week |
| Interview Risk | Low (Skills are transferable) | High (Cultural fit dependent) |
| Job Security | High (Hard to replace) | Low (First to go in layoffs) |
The Verdict: Unless you genuinely love meetings and hate coding, stay on the IC track. The "Prestige" of a Manager title isn't worth the loss of technical leverage.
Frequently Asked Questions (That Your Boss Won't Answer)
Can I go back to coding if I hate managing?
Technically yes, but it’s hard. It’s called the "Pendulum." But every month you spend managing is a month you fall behind on tech. If you wait more than 18 months, "going back" requires a massive ego check (you might have to take a down-level to Senior).
Doesn't Management have more job security?
No. It has less. In the 2025 layoffs, Middle Management was the #1 target. Mark Zuckerberg explicitly called for a "flattening." Companies realized they don't need 1 manager for every 6 devs. They need 1 for every 15. The "Code Writers" stayed. The "Code Watchers" got fired.
How do I say "No" to the promotion without looking unmotivated?
Say this: "I am honored, but I feel my highest impact right now is on the technical architecture. I want to pursue the Staff Engineer track to solve the scaling issues we have. I can lead technically without managing people." This sounds ambitious, not lazy.
Leon Staffing places high-level individual contributors who refused the management trap. View our Staff & Principal Engineer roles here.