Why spend years gaining programming skills to throw them away? Sure there will be some overlap with "learning to program with more than 2 hands" but at the end of the day a managers skills and responsibilities are different to that of an engineers.

> Why spend years gaining programming skills to throw them away?

This question only makes sense if your #1 life-long goal is "be a coder". If you have other goals, such as lead products, lead companies, retire young, learn business, change the world, raise a family, travel the world, or whatever else you may want to do... there is nothing wrong with programming being a stepping stool to something else and letting those skills go.

Your post only makes sense if we consider a person who wishes to switch careers.

Also, how are the following relevant in terms of switching from coding to a different career path? "change the world, raise a family, travel the world".

It isn't about careers, it is about goals - those are examples of goals where your career is nothing but a tool to get you the resources to move towards your actual goal. So if your goal is to travel the world, it matters not whether you are a coder or something else... as long as your are moving towards your goal. When there is a job that gets you there better than coding, take it.

I see what you mean now. I don't think in that way at all. How do you set the bounds of meeting your goal?