Yeah honestly I'm not surprised, they can probably use their piles of cash to wipe away their tears. I work for a very large company as an SDE and when asked about how I feel about the manager track, I am met with awkward silence when I say I absolutely do not want that path. My manager probably doesn't make a ton more than me, but they work at least 2x the hours with way more stress. Not worth it. These people chose these lives.
Yup, senior IC here, been getting roped into more "manager" type stuff but fuck me are those things obnoxious. Perf reviews, budgeting, promos, god damn.
Yea my next promo is senior and honestly I'm probably just going to take that for the title and then fuck off. Based on my team's current seniors it's exactly how you describe it. Basically just manager light.