[MarkSummer]

I went from individual contributer to manager, then back to individual contributer. But I believe the decision is dependant on the quality of work and the team you're managing.

For the latter transition, I got some sideways looks at first from people asking "you realize your taking a step back in your career, right?" My reply was twofold:

A.) I replied "I'm still getting the same pay and benefits, right?" The answer is yes.

and

B.) As an individual contributer I don't have to waste my time (which I could be using to actually work on creative and interesting projects) trying to fix the work/quality of complacent and mediocre engineers.

So, for me, if I get to manage a team of highly competant engineers, then I will gladly take that management role because the team actually extends my ability to accomplish more than if I worked independantly. However, if you want me to manage a group of half-ass engineers who have little-to-no passion for pushing the envelope, then I'd much rather work independantly as an individual contributer.

Life is too short to waste on menial tasks that do little to improve the world.