Corporate Targets - Middle Management

Little by little through my career as an engineer I've learned that just about everyone knows how to do a better job than the engineer does, at least in their eyes. Engineers have so many critics, ...uh customers, that it's quite impossible to satisfy them all. Consequently, engineers have little targets on them so that others have something to throw their darts at.

In my 2 brief stints in middle management I found the situation similar. Regardless of the situation, not only does higher management know better, but so do those reporting to you. I can certainly understand why so many people run away from positions of responsibility. The reward is seldom large enough to offset the abuse, unless one grows very thick skin.

I had a phone interview recently that brought the above to mind. Yes I'm still working in a long term, open ended contract position, but the interview is for a direct hire position. One of the questions asked was where do I see myself in 5 years. I've always found that hard to answer. I usually reply that I'm not one of those guys trying to climb the corporate ladder. All I want is to enjoy my job and feel useful. The management positions that I've had were because I was asked to take those jobs. I've turned some down, and taken a couple because I thought it was good for the company, and most importantly, because of the challenge.