Should You Continue to Code as an Engineering Manager?

Find out the reason that people stop coding after becoming Engineering Managers

Hi 👋 This is Adler from Tokyo Tech Lead. This post is part of my book “Transition from Software Engineer to Engineering Manager”. I am posting its content as paid articles each week. Please consider becoming a paid members now to enjoy the 50% discount. The discount will end when I finish the book.

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After I became an Engineering Manager, one of the first things I asked my manager was whether I should keep coding.

My manager said: "Sure, if you can."

I didn’t get what he meant. I wanted to stay close technically and stay close to the team.

But after a few weeks, I realized managers don't have time to code 😅. I needed to prioritize other responsibilities most of the time.

In today's post, I'll explore why most managers code less and what they do instead.

This is a paid post. Please consider upgrading to the paid plan if you haven’t. Table of contents:

• Why Don’t Most Managers Code?

• 🔒 What Do Managers Do Instead?

• 🔒 Why Do Some Managers Still Code?

• 🔒 Should You Continue to Code as a Manager?

• 🔒 How to Stay Technical as a Manager if You Don’t Code

Why Don’t Most Managers Code?

Managers have a different measurement of success: it's measured by the team.

The team's success is the manager's success. On the other hand, if the team has insufficient output, it's the manager’s responsibility.

Some examples of managers’ responsibilities:

• Aligning the team with business goals

• Mentoring individuals

• Resolving conflicts

• All the other technical, project, and people management

Imagine a manager who does hands-on coding 100% of the time, then how is that going to help others besides themselves?

Moving the entire team forward requires a different strategy.