The Engineering Manager Role Is Mutating

I read Gregor Ojstersek's piece the other day. "Would I Still Go The Engineering Manager Route in 2026?" . And it hit me in a strange way. Not because of the answer but because of the question. The fact that someone who's been doing this for years is publicly asking whether he'd do it again says something. I've been in this role for almost three years. And I'd be lying if I said I hadn't asked myself the same thing. But here's the thing. I've done this loop before. Before I was an EM, I was an IC. Before I was an IC, I ran my own web agency for eight years. I was the CEO. I did sales, code, hiring, client management, architecture, marketing. Full ownership, full autonomy. And then I deliberately walked away from that, went back to building as an individual contributor, and worked my way through Lead and Principal before choosing management again. I chose this role knowing what I was giving up. I'd already tasted the other side. Twice, actually. That context shapes how I see what's happ