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Comment by hliyan | Hacker News Reader

A few thoughts:

(1) As an engineer, I prefer to be managed and guided by someone who actually knows what I work on, preferably better than I know it.

(2) A manager who actually understands the tech is often better at unblocking the team.

(3) Since senior IC openings tend to grow very thin as you become older, TLM path might be a viable career path for at least some.

Can this role work if we don't expect IC output from the TLM beyond what they themselves take on for their own satisfaction and growth?

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When you become a good enough IC, “ As an engineer, I prefer to be managed and guided by someone who actually knows what I work on, preferably better than I know it.” is no longer reasonable. Then your managers role is to maximize your ability to make an impact by putting you in the right place/project.

As a manager of people who know far more about the things they do than I do, my goal is to assist and ensure in the right place (for them and the org). It’d be foolish for me to hire peons who know less than me.

Not sure why you'd take the leap from the idea of technical people managing technical people to "hiring peons who know less than me", that wasn't my intention. Also "as an engineer" was rhetorical -- I'm a manager myself and it's been over 15 years since I've been an engineer. So I do see the point you're trying to make. I still feel the immediate management layer above mid-level ICs should have some level of hands-on knowledge of the system they're developing. At the next level up, I think engineering fundamentals and past technical experience would suffice.

GP made the point that early in your career, your boss should absolutely know more than you do about your technical work, but at some point (fairly early), that inverts and your leader unavoidably knows less than you do about your technical work, because you’re the expert on the team at it and they can’t know more than all 5-8 of their reports like you can when leading 3-5 junior/new devs.

In post 1, you want your lead to preferably know more, someone says that’s not realistic, and in post 2, you profess to not understand their point while changing the goal post to now be “some level of hands-on knowledge”, which sounds like you do understand their point.

Control issues prevent experienced IC from just roaming the halls looking for trouble.

What you're asking for is more of a TL.

At the risk of oversimplifying, the role of a manager is to find you that TL.

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