i turned down a promotion to manage people and it was the best career move i have made
A few years ago I got offered the manager title. More money, more meetings, and ownership of everyone else's bad days.
I said no. I stayed an individual contributor and kept doing the work I actually like.
Now the people who took those jobs are in back to back calls all day, mediating grown adults who cannot agree on a meeting time, and they are the first ones cut when the spreadsheet gets tight, because their whole role is a line item. Nobody tells you management is mostly emotional labor with a nicer business card. I am not ambitious. I am just tired in a smarter way.