What Motivates Software Engineers to Become Managers?

After a while, the challenges of developing software often reduce, becoming easier and less of a challenge. This, coupled with limited room for advancement, can prompt software engineers (SEs) to consider a move towards management. However, not all SEs have the skills or desire to make effective managers. They either start managing because they love their current role, are forced into it, or merely for more money.

Top Coders and Management

Some of the top coders I have worked with absolutely loved what they were doing. Many of them became managers more out of a passion for their current role than any drive to move into management. While great coders are often respected, many do not have much regard for managers, suggesting that not everyone sees the transition from SE to manager as a natural progression.

Comparing Skills and Roles

As you age, mental agility and the ability to quickly pick up new technologies and programming paradigms typically decline. This makes it increasingly difficult to compete on hands-on coding tasks against younger colleagues. However, experience grants a broader perspective, allowing you to see the big picture and understand how different components of a project fit together.

Becoming a manager or a tech lead, where the focus is more on strategic and collaborative meta-work rather than heavy coding, can be an attractive option. This leverages your strengths and ensures you remain relevant. However, it is crucial to not completely abandon coding. Otherwise, you may lose touch with the people you are managing, which can hinder your ability to understand and support them effectively.

Desire for Control and Experience

The journey to becoming a manager is often driven by a desire for more input and control over how projects are executed and processes are managed. A significant aspect of this role involves team and individual development and mentoring. Additionally, the compensation can be a strong motivator, offering the potential to earn a more substantial income than what is typically achievable as a purely technical role.

It can be challenging to earn enough to raise a family as an engineer unless you are among the top performers. To reach that level of performance often requires working on high-quality projects. Controlling the division of labor, rather than being controlled by it, is the most reliable way to secure such projects, which fosters sustained career growth and stability.

To many software engineers, the realization that they can often perform managerial roles better and more efficiently than the current incumbents drives their interest in taking on these roles. This pursuit not only addresses career growth and stability but also tackles the financial concerns of raising a family, making management a compelling and sometimes necessary path.