Two great paths, two very different kinds of leverage. This lesson compares the staff engineer (senior IC) and the engineering manager (people leader), shows how work flows in each role, and gives you small, runnable tools to practice core skills before you pick—or switch.
Why This Decision Matters
Choosing staff engineer vs engineering manager changes your daily work, your success metrics, and the type of problems you’ll be trusted with. Staff roles keep you on the technical leadership track; EM roles put you on the people-and-delivery leadership track. Both are leadership—just different instruments.
A helpful mental model: scope × system of influence. Staff engineers widen technical scope and influence through design, standards, and cross-team problem-solving. EMs widen organizational scope and influence through people, priorities, and processes.
