Possibly because many (most?, nearly all?) engineers are extremely poor at contract negotiation and believe whatever lies HR tells them about how much money is available and how valuable their contribution is.
Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
11–20 of 69 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#12Primarily because the people who decide salaries are themselves managers.
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#13Everything boils down to demand and supply when talking about price:
Its difficult to find a good manager than a good engineer!
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#14Primarily because the people who decide salaries are themselves managers.
This blank statement is wrong for most companies. The salaries are fixed within levels that are decided by HR based on the market e.g.
http://www.robertwalters.com.au/career-advice/salary-survey....
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#15Not always true. If you are a decent engineer consulting/contracting in a field like big data, data warehousing, analytics etc you will make far more than any manager short of C level. If you are talking about normal salary jobs then it is simple. Managers take on risk and responsibilities. Engineers largely don't. If an engineer screws up the damage is largely minimal. If a manager screws up then serious money can b…
> If an engineer screws up the damage is largely minimal.
> If a manager screws up then serious money can be lost.
And generally the manager will be held accountable, where the engineers will not, because they were just following orders.
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#16Managers are promoted to managers because the higher ups like them, and want to include them in their circle. They have the right face, fit in, agree on similar things etc.
They earn more money for the same reason.
If your are not the sort person, who can surpress your own values to fit in with the right crowd. Its best to just regularly reneogiate your salary.
Humans are humans after all. We run on emotions/friendships/tribes and not pure rationality.(although people like to pretend they do)
Regneogating your salary, is using the market to correct these irrationalities and bad perceptions about where the value is coming from.
Business knowledge comes after being given position where its possible to learn it, not before. If someone wants you as a manager because they like you, they'll find a way to train you.
Also engineering managers are often stuck between a rock and a hard place. Given imposible tasks and deadlines from people above them who don't have a grip on reality, and engineers from below who are saying it just can't be done. Often it is just impossible situations. Its there job to neogiate the team out of these situations.
Its very nice to be a manager when everything's going well. Absolute hell when it isn't.
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#17Simply because the boss of the manager trusts that one person with implementing their vision and strategy. Yes, you can have individual contributors underneath that are technically providing more value to the company, but they aren't responsible for the success of the team in the way a manager is. Frankly, that is just worth more to bosses and helps them sleep better at night.
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#18There are obviously different possible reasons.
One is that the marginal product of a manager might be more than that of an engineer.
Another is that the manager is better at capturing value than are engineers.
These might amount to the same thing if there is a difference between actual marginal product and what is perceived within the company.
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#19Because when a milestone is missed or the product sucks it's the managers ass not the individual engineers.
It's all about responsibility
Re: Ask HN: Why do managers tend to make more money than engineers?
#20In most companies, business knowledge is key. The more knowledge you have about how the business operates the stronger you are. Beautifully architectured applications are great, but you need to be able to make the right choices for the business, rather than simply complete task from start to finish. On top of that, managers generally got into that position because they are solid communicators, work well in teams, and…
" … because they are solid communicators, work well in teams, and have organization skills." And, in my experience, because those communication skills result in them asking for more money more often - and having good explanations ready about why it'd be a good outcome for both the manager and the company. Engineers are, to a first approximation, all woefully bad at asking for more money.
I hate to say it, but the engineers are often really bad at everything but the software engineering and the discussions about comic book characters.