# There's a Payoff in Being a Lifelong Technologist - Quora
Synced: [[2023_11_30]] 6:03 AM
Last Highlighted: [[2023_07_29]]
Tags: [[business]]
## Highlights
[[2023_07_29]] [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h6g24rftam2mjhhh0p59c6xx)
> Being "a boss" doesn't mean you have to stop doing the work that you manage.
[[2023_07_29]] [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h6g2ay730jz63c5zfv5159n6) [[favorite]]
> **In that time as a middle manager, you want to bounce past the** ***effort thermocline*****,** which is where jobs get easier and cushier (due to enhanced power and social status, and the willingness of almost anyone to do you favors) with increasing rank, rather than more difficult. A middle manager's job is harder than a grunt's, but a VP's job is easier than a Director's, and a Director's job is easier than that of a scrappy middle manager trying to make himself matter. (That doesn't quite apply to CEOs themselves; CEO-ing might be the only executive job that is actually difficult, but it applies up to the #2 spot in most companies.) It's when you get past the effort thermocline that you're actually "in the club".
[[2023_07_29]] [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h6g2js7dakskgey8hkab0j2g)
> **One programming-specific part of this that is sad is that, at some level, you're going to be expected to give up your identity-as-programmer.** Like I said, doctors are still *doctors* when they manage other doctors, and law firm partners are still *lawyers* even if they don't argue cases in court, and MDs are still *bankers* even when they spend most of their time on relationships rather than financial modeling. Programmers don't have that, unfortunately. **Even if software engineering is what you do-- and you should try to sneak away some time for it, even if you're a CTO--companies call you something else (like "co-founder" or "VP of Engineering" or "<X> Fellow" or at least "*****Distinguished*** **Engineer") if they value your opinion at all. Being an "engineer" in tech is like being a "soldier" in a crime organization; the term underscores what rank you** ***didn't*** **make.** For this reason, the identity of a "software engineer" is often one of subordination and low status, and it's a damn shame because the Valley wouldn't run without us.