https://www.youngju.dev/blog 천천히 올바르게. AI Researcher & DevOps Engineer Youngju's blog. GPU/CUDA, LLM, MLOps, Kubernetes AI workloads, and data engineering — plus mindset essays on confidence, routines, health, and sport psychology. ko fjvbn2003@gmail.com (Youngju Kim) fjvbn2003@gmail.com (Youngju Kim) Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.youngju.dev/blog/career/2026-08-15-career-moves-manager-or-ic.en https://www.youngju.dev/blog/career/2026-08-15-career-moves-manager-or-ic.en Because becoming a manager is habitually called a promotion, the two paths look like the top and bottom of one ladder. What actually differs is the kind of job, and whether an organization treats the two as equals varies from place to place. This post lays out what each track really grows, why the reversibility of the switch depends on organizational structure more than on your own ability, and four questions that separate promotion pressure from aptitude. It covers how to test the manager role at a reversible scale before changing your title, the trap of the player-coach arrangement, and how to build a sample by coloring last quarter calendar in two colors. It also says plainly where the advice collapses — in organizations whose IC ladder does not actually work. Part 7 of the Career Moves series. Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT fjvbn2003@gmail.com (Youngju Kim) careermanagementindividual-contributorcareer-strategydecision-making https://www.youngju.dev/blog/career/2026-08-15-career-moves-manager-or-ic.ja https://www.youngju.dev/blog/career/2026-08-15-career-moves-manager-or-ic.ja マネージャーになることを昇進と呼ぶ慣習のせいで、二つの経路が一つのはしごの上下に並んでいるように見えます。実際に違うのは高さではなく職種の種類であり、二つを対等に扱うかどうかは組織によって違います。それぞれのトラックで実際に伸びる能力、転換が引き返せる選択かどうかが個人の能力より組織構造に左右される理由、昇進圧力と適性を切り分ける四つの質問を整理しました。肩書きを変える前に引き返せる規模で試す方法、兼任リードの罠、先の四半期の予定表を二色で塗って標本を作る方法も扱います。ICのはしごが実際には機能していない組織で、この助言がどう無意味になるかまで書きました。キャリアを動かす選択シリーズの第7回です。 Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT fjvbn2003@gmail.com (Youngju Kim) careermanagementindividual-contributorcareer-strategydecision-making https://www.youngju.dev/blog/career/2026-08-15-career-moves-manager-or-ic https://www.youngju.dev/blog/career/2026-08-15-career-moves-manager-or-ic 매니저가 되는 일을 승진이라고 부르는 관행 때문에 두 경로가 위아래로 배열된 것처럼 보입니다. 실제로는 하는 일의 종류가 다르고, 두 경로를 대등하게 다루는지는 조직마다 다릅니다. 각 트랙에서 실제로 커지는 능력이 무엇인지, 전환이 되돌릴 수 있는 선택인지 아닌지가 개인의 능력보다 조직 구조에 달려 있는 이유, 승진 압박과 적성을 구분하는 질문 네 가지를 정리했습니다. 직함을 바꾸기 전에 되돌릴 수 있는 규모로 시험하는 방법과 겸임 리드의 함정, 지난 분기 일정표를 두 색으로 칠해 표본을 만드는 방법도 담았습니다. IC 사다리가 실제로 없는 조직에서 이 조언이 어떻게 무의미해지는지까지 적었습니다. 커리어를 움직이는 선택 시리즈의 7편입니다. Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT fjvbn2003@gmail.com (Youngju Kim) careermanagementindividual-contributorcareer-strategydecision-making