I currently enjoy autonomy & deliver consistently but I have no interest in managing people or leading projects. How do I communicate this to my manager without eventually getting the axe?๐ช
Itโs what most of us do. Be honest about it.
You can't stay mid-level forever. You don't have to go into people management, but if you never take the initiative to lead projects you'll eventually get the ๐ช. And once you're a certain age you won't be able to get hired to mid-level jobs either. So you'll kind of screw yourself if you don't have the experience to be hired as senior.
This is highly company specific. Some companies gave terminal levels whether officially or unofficially. Others have up-or-out policy.
Even at companies with terminal levels, it's never at what's commonly called "mid-level." A mid-level SWE is really an inflated title for what is essentially still a relatively early career role. Mid level SWEs still net the company negative money. They're an investment in the person's future with the company. If someone isn't growing into an employee with a positive ROI, the company will get rid of them sooner or later.
Just do the minimum. Itโs not hard