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There are two career tracks in engineering: development and management. That's it. As you're probably already an engineer, this decision is easy to describe but hard to understand: do you want to be a manager?
Why would anyone want to be a manager?
Fact. There is more money to be had in management. This money is a result of more responsibility, and by responsibility, I mean frequent moments when everyone in the room is staring at you, expecting you to make a critical decision on the spot with incomplete information.
Fact. You'll code less, you'll work more, and at the end of the day, you won't be sure you did anything.
Fact. You'll meet lots more people and be expected to get along with them.
Fact. Much of what you've done to be a good engineer isn't going to apply to being a good manager.
The question remains: is this a direction you want to head as part of your next gig? This doesn't need to be an absolute decision. There are smaller steps you can take toward management. Technical Lead is usually the title for a gig that is a primer for management. Such roles usually have larger decision-making responsibilities without all the bothersome performance reviews, so you can get a feel for wearing a management hat without fully committing.
Learn more about this topic from Being Geek.
As a software engineer, you recognize at some point that there's much more to your career than dealing with code. Is it time to become a manager? Tell your boss he’s a jerk? Join that startup? Author Michael Lopp recalls his own make-or-break moments with Silicon Valley giants such as Apple, Netscape, and Symantec in Being Geek -- an insightful and entertaining book that will help you make better career decisions.
