From the linked article itself, I can attest to the constant push to move up into 'leadership' roles, particularly in some companies. I have stayed and worked as an engineer for 37 years. I have been 'team lead' a half dozen times, but never a full manager role. Why? Because I would be a poor manager. I have personally experienced managers that where technically brilliant, but not good at managing (or inspiring) the technical staff. They should have remained as engineers/scientists. Some corporations used to have parallel paths for technical staff that had management level pay and benefits, but the suits in the 'C suite' have eliminated that for the most part over the last twenty years. Bell Laboratories (now a shell of its former self) was once one of those places.
So in the current environment, there is constant pressure to move up or move out. Even startups are no longer immune to that. If you want to have enough shares for it to really matter in a liquidity event, you need to have a team of people below you, or at least a director level title. The startup environment in 2000 was completely different, and technically astute engineers (mechanical, electrical, software) could attract strong stock grants as engineers. That has changed. I am fortunate in that after 37 years of doing this, I am at a position where I don't even have to think about these issues any longer. I feel sorry for younger engineers breaking into the field, the management pyramid is such a PITA.
And back to the topic of strong technical engineers that are poor managers? If you get stuck into one of those situations, constant micro management, constant downward pressure of "you don't know what you are doing", get out. Find a new position elsewhere. Good managers will coach you when you need help, but will let you do your own work. Good managers will help identify your deficiencies but also guide you to work that plays to your strengths. Good managers will provide you opportunity for growth. I learned this early in my career, blessed with having an awesome manager. Since then, every job I have had, first thing I did was figure out which managers were good, and which ones were not, and made sure that I never had to work under a bad manager.
So you can make a career in engineering, but it has to be a choice, and you have to learn to manage your managers.
Also note, while I recognize that I would be a poor manager (for various reasons), mentoring is a different skill set. If you are a senior engineer, take every opportunity to mentor a starter in the field.
I agree, 15k BTU is not 80k, but with a little patience on preheating (I don't have waiting customers) I still enjoy working in the wok I own. Also, it is not a restaurant sized wok, but for flash frying chopped food, or getting a nice quick sear, it works great.
Ender 3 Pro. Unmodified other than a BL Touch. Just a bunch of fun.
My first Dutch oven. I cook most the meals in our household, like 95%. I never have owned a Dutch oven. Misen had a Dutch oven on kickstarter and I picked one up. So far, very happy. You have to be careful how you heat them, but they cook stews wonderfully, and I braised a bunch of meatballs, then filled it with spaghetti sauce for dinner one night. In a stainless steel pot, that can be a cleanup nightmare. The Dutch oven just wiped out clean after a soak.
I haven't gone back to re-examine Wayland for a while now, because forever I have used RDP to access my headless servers.
And before you waste time with "Instead of RDP you should..."
Save the effort, I have no interest. RDP works with XFCE exactly the way I want it to. But I understand there is a working GNOME RDP interface now, so maybe I'll give it a shot with Wayland when I bring up a new server.
This is one of the hardest things to explain to people.
Here is a thought experiment. Lets assume that the minimum required to live in a given place is $20K.
So now you have two people, one makes $30K, the other makes $40K. How much more does the second one make compared to the first? Twice as much. At $30K, you have $10K disposable. At $40K, you have $20K disposable. And someone making $60K is making four times the disposable compared to $30K.
Once you get above cost of living, everything gets easier.
Having been there, I second that. Juggling late utility bills in the middle of winter against having food to eat. If you come through that, it hangs with you forever in ways that others that have not will never understand. Even though that life is almost forty years behind me now, it clearly affects my life decisions every day. I am aware of that, and I manage it, but it is always there. Like you, I am not going for the misery olympics either. Just don't assume that, given my career and place in life now, I am not happy with my perfectly maintained fourteen year old car. I know I can afford a new one, thank you very much. But spending that kind of money, just because I can, does not bring me comfort. People that have never been poor will never understand that.
So in the current environment, there is constant pressure to move up or move out. Even startups are no longer immune to that. If you want to have enough shares for it to really matter in a liquidity event, you need to have a team of people below you, or at least a director level title. The startup environment in 2000 was completely different, and technically astute engineers (mechanical, electrical, software) could attract strong stock grants as engineers. That has changed. I am fortunate in that after 37 years of doing this, I am at a position where I don't even have to think about these issues any longer. I feel sorry for younger engineers breaking into the field, the management pyramid is such a PITA.
And back to the topic of strong technical engineers that are poor managers? If you get stuck into one of those situations, constant micro management, constant downward pressure of "you don't know what you are doing", get out. Find a new position elsewhere. Good managers will coach you when you need help, but will let you do your own work. Good managers will help identify your deficiencies but also guide you to work that plays to your strengths. Good managers will provide you opportunity for growth. I learned this early in my career, blessed with having an awesome manager. Since then, every job I have had, first thing I did was figure out which managers were good, and which ones were not, and made sure that I never had to work under a bad manager.
So you can make a career in engineering, but it has to be a choice, and you have to learn to manage your managers.
Also note, while I recognize that I would be a poor manager (for various reasons), mentoring is a different skill set. If you are a senior engineer, take every opportunity to mentor a starter in the field.