IT world kuli here 🙋‍♀️ likewise, it is common for us to also aim for managerial roles in career advancement. However, I went on to specialise into technical career path in my company. For the past 5+ years, there were two internal openings for people manager, both of which I applied and was shortlisted for interview. In both, I wasn't truly keen on the role but rather just going in to interview for the sake of experience. I guess I made my intentions clear enough, in the end I wasn't chosen. Coincidentally, in both rounds I had already received a promotion and/or job title change around those times, so I guess the disinterest was mutual -- management probably wanted to award the position to someone else who needed a bump on their career... And of course, the way I answered questions (too truthfully) kinda made me an undesirable pawn for the upper management, so I guess that sealed the coffin.

Now I'm glad I'm not chosen, because:
- one friend won the role, she complains a lot about juggling her hands on work and members' welfare a lot... Also the fact that a few other managers don't actually do that and they just let their members fend on their own lol.
- I watch that one dude who took the role, he's demotivated now and dealing with a toxic/egoistical team member who finds loopholes around the rules to his favour.
- I had the freedom to switch department without troubling team members (it's generally not nice to change boss, after all), and now I'm in a global entity. Not saying the grass here is greener, but I feel very challenged at my job, not because of people but more of the technical stuff so it doesn't feel painful in that sense.
- I finally got promoted this year, which proves once again, you don't have to be a people's manager to advance in career.

That said, I'm still not ktard 20k level