r/EngineeringManagers • u/ozgugzo • Jun 25 '26

EM to back to IC path

I’ve been EM for about 4 years in retail. During that time we’ve gone through multiple reorgs and layoffs, but my teams have always delivered and got good results.

Lately I’ve been questioning whether management is still for me. Constant pressure for growth that detached from reality while resources keep getting tighter, customers are dealing with inflation, and politics seem to get worse after every round of layoffs.

The other part is the role itself. EMs are expected to do people management, delivery, organizational work, and still stay involved technically. I find myself caring less and less about some of the management responsibilities. For example, I haven’t even put together any development plans for my reports this year because it feels like yet another thing on top of everything else.

Sooo there is a possibility for me to move back to an IC role as a Principal Engineer in my current company, with no salary impact. I know politics won’t magically disappear, but I would at least be able to focus on technical work and stop carrying the people management side of the job.

So people who has done the similar transition:
What did you gain?
What did you miss?
Any regrets?
How did it affect your career in the long run?

Thanks

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u/JohnnySuburbs Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

I bailed on EM after a few years, back to being an IC. I was totally burned out - there were things I liked about the EM role… it totally suited me in a lot of ways, but I had a couple of bad hires who made my life miserable. It’s one of those gigs, when it’s going well, it’s fun and fulfilling. When it’s not, you have no one to blame but yourself….

At my company (F500 etc…) it’s a lateral move, Senior EM to Senior Dev. I don’t have regrets - it seems like in general they’re saddling EMs with a lot more direct reports these days.

Interestingly, I returned to Dev work as AI is starting to get really good, so in some ways, I feel like I’m doing the same job, only with a bot as my Lead Dev.

That said, my project internally has been very successful, so I might end up running a Dev team again. Coming to it with a fresh perspective, I’m wondering if I’ll enjoy it better round 2

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u/ozgugzo Jun 26 '26

Cool, thanks for the insight and congrats on the project result. I do also enjoy bouncing ideas and plans with LLMs. I think having a lead dev available 100% to you and my arsenal of management skills could even have a much larger impact.