[sombremesa]

As an engineer, all the good managers I've had have had their hands in the tech in the present or the past. Really confuses me why companies hire externally for managers working directly with engineering. Knowing the tech makes a huge difference in managing expectations.

[silveroriole]

Then again, this can really make your manager suck too. If they have the “I’m a developer!” attitude but haven’t actually done any programming for a decade, they’ll waste a ton of your time with their outdated ideas rather than just being your manager.

[eeZah7Ux]

Some examples?

[orev]

Because Engineering and Management are a completely different skill set, so most Engineers do not make good Managers.

[mooreds]

But being an engineer (or at least a recent one) is a key part of engineering management. My favorite article about that:

https://charity.wtf/2019/01/04/engineering-management-the-pe...

[bsder]

It is true that engineering and management are a different skill set. However, why is it that we simply throw people into being managers, while we realize that even after 4 years of training and engineer is still highly inexperienced.

Management is a skill, and it can be taught. Why does nobody do so?

[joshuamorton]

In a lot of places you do. One starts as a team lead, (which is kind of a journeyman manager where you can defer to the real manager) then might move to managing a subteam of 1-3 people, and then on to a full team.

[meddlepal]

Most engineers don't make good managers until they get some good mentoring or training. They're not unmixable skills and it's not impossible for an engineer to become a good manager with time and dedication to that craft.

I completely agree most engineers suck at it though but I think that's because most companies promote engineers into management for lack of a better career path.

[watwut]

The trouble is that managers with non technical background do not make good managers either. It is not like they would have some awesome impressive track record.

[saghm]

I'm not sure that's specific to engineering; I think most people in general might not make good managers