The Engineer/Manager Pendulum
🚧 ExpandingThis deep-dive is still being expanded, but the core idea is too good to make you wait for: Charity Majors’ “pendulum” reframes management and engineering not as a ladder you climb once, but as two poles you can swing between across a whole career. A stint managing makes you a sharper engineer; time back in the code makes you a more credible manager. Neither swing is a demotion — and going back to IC is just one half of that pendulum. This topic is about why that movement is healthy and how to do it without torching your reputation or your skills.
What the full version will cover:
- Why the “ladder” framing quietly damages both ICs and managers
- The compounding advantage of having done both jobs
- How long is “too long” to stay away from code before it gets hard to swing back
- Talking to your org about a planned swing without it reading as a red flag
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If you’re a manager who hasn’t touched the codebase in two years, the pendulum can feel like it’s rusted in place. It isn’t — but the longer you wait, the bigger the swing costs. I try to keep a small, low-stakes foot in the technical work precisely so the door back never slams shut.
📚 Go Deeper
Books
- The Manager's Path — Camille FournierFrames IC and management as parallel tracks rather than a one-way climb.
Tools
- The Engineer/Manager Pendulum — Charity MajorsThe original essay that named the pattern — read this one first.
- Engineering Management: The Pendulum Or The Ladder — Charity MajorsThe follow-up that argues the best managers keep one foot in the craft.
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