Worries

Any project needs at least one person worrying about it. Some call these people 'project managers'. These poor souls do a lot of things that have very little to do with actually creating software.

Every developer except the total freaks will sooner or later get more and more project management tasks. Some people like this, others don't. Alternative career planning involves the 'internal consultant' route. It's also possible to become an 'external' consultant, but that could bring you into even more trouble with all sorts of management tasks. Very few manage to keep out of project management altogether.

One of the painful parts of project management is that, at the end of the day, you feel you haven't achieved a thing. This is not at all true, but it sure feels like it. It's much more satisfying to check in a nicely running piece of code or a nifty framework design. The thing is that project management can be seen as charity, on a project. You are enabling the others to just have all the fun. While you're sweating on e-mails, reports, checking progress and so forth, the others can enjoy themselves and make great stuff. While you are worrying, they create.

It's a rotten job ... but someone's got to do it ...