[ptmcc]

My experience as a staff-level IC is that I end up doing a lot of project management, scoping, resource allocation, interacting & negotiating with business stakeholders, and defining & delegating work items. I meet often with my actual EM and work with him on strategic team direction. I still code but quite a bit less than as a senior IC, instead doing more oversight, review, and direction-setting across all the team's projects and work.

But I don't have to do the real people management stuff like perf reviews, dealing with personal issues, hiring/firing, reporting to the execs/board, etc.

I have some previous "real" management experience from a prior job but I noped out of it for staff+ IC, for now.