[krschultz]

At Meta many engineers tried management and then went back to being an individual contributor. I'm not sure of the exact numbers but it was a very common career path. It did build up empathy for management on the senior IC side and meant that teams didn't get stuck with managers that didn't actually want to be a manager. If the company is not growing headcount this move makes perfect sense.

[bink]

That's a pretty common thing once ICs reach a certain age. I've seen it everywhere I've worked. Sometimes it's because they fear age discrimination but more commonly I've found it caused by the organization not providing a great career path beyond a certain level. With wisdom comes the ability to accept that it's OK to stick at an engineering career level for years at a time.

[tinglymintyfrsh]

I don't speak for anyone or any org.

This is a normal thing. There's a normal fluidity based on what someone wants to do, IC or manager. There isn't really a pay difference.

Being a Meta manager is a lot of work, especially the formality, structure, and data-drivenness of performance reviews.

Almost anyone can move back and forth if they want and have some interest.