[zer0sand0nes]

Tough question to answer but if your network is solid - you can do stuff.

I was in a similar boat, and still am, frankly, but at this point I have decided that dealing with people is a big No-No for me, so I will stick to the IC track.

This way I will have to get good at coding and my skills but my head will also be free of bullshit. Ideally, I would have my own LLC and get work that way, but that also seems very difficult to do.

It seems that asking the questions that you're asking involves some kind of "spark" and brings to mind the saying "anything worth doing is hard" or something like that.

So I would say if you are confident that you want to do Engineering Management is just apply to jobs and tweak your resume in the best way possible, and explain how your previous roles aligned with engineering management.

And I mean really become a beast about this. Make your resume slide through to the Recruiters table with zero friction.

And then good luck on your interviews.