How to handle promotion options

[NotAGolf]

I've been in my job for 3 years now. I'm a senior engineer and at the top of my pay scale. This means I'm not going to get a pay rise unless I get a promotion, but to be honest, I'm totally fine with that. I'm paid reasonably well and my team is good and is relatively stress free.

I was assigned a new manager just under a year or so ago, and he's raised the prospect of a promotion with me. The problem is, I don't really want it, but I'm not sure how to put that across to him. There's two roles available; a team lead role, and a tech lead role.

Team lead involves having direct reports. I've done that before and am absolutely not interested in it, so I can easily shut that down.

Tech lead is more appealing, and long term, this is the direction I want to go in (and he knows it), BUT I don't want to take this route right now. This is because he's basically incompetent at anything remotely technical, so all that role is going to involve is him shoveling all the stuff he doesn't understand at me, which will result in me spending all my time trying to make him look competent and having less time todo my current day-to-day role which I enjoy.

So how do I tell my boss that "Yes, in theory I am interested in the role, but I don't want it because you'll make it hell. Just let me stay where I am"

 

[NotAGolf]

Can you move to a different team?

Yes, but he'd still be my boss as there's only a handful of teams.

Thats the big problem in engineering. Most companies aren't willing to pay engineers who want to *be* engineers. basically you hit a paywall and you have to move to management to escape. I don't have a fix for you, but personally I've moved to contracting/consulting only now, because somehow, and bizarrely, you *can* ask for stupid amount of money and people will even respect you for it!

I don't have the guts to go contracting. I've got a young family and bills to pay, so I'd stress too much about gaps between contracts.

 

[NotAGolf]

The defensive play is to take the team lead role. Instead of someone else getting the role and you getting pushed out, you get to be the one doing the pushing. I know you don't want it but I think you have to.

So you're saying I should take a role that I know I won't enjoy, to cover off the chance of something that MIGHT happen? Doesn't seem logical to me.

Who's to say that they don't bother getting a new team lead in, or they do, but they're not a moron so I'm happy to work under them?