Managers come in all shapes and sizes and some are definitely better than others. One time I had a conversation with my manager towards the end of my time at one company, and to be fair I was eyeing the door so I was pretty honest about my career ambitions outside of the company. To my surprise and delight, my manager loved the conversation, and was suggesting companies to apply for that would suit my best next steps. I asked him, "are you even allowed to suggest this stuff?" and he said, "Sam, I care about you as a software engineer, not just you as a software engineer here". It was nice. It was selfless. I still recommend that company to others today.
It was a long term mindset by him, but one that has worked out for him.
Heads up: As with any terse bit of advice, there will be exceptions of course, and subtleties and nuance that can't possibly be captured in a Byte of Wisdom. This has been what I've experienced, I'd love to hear yours in the comments too!
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