Even if there is an IC track, how viable is it. while management competition is stiff, there still tends to be more opportunities up top than engineers. Sure I could be CTO, but below the CTO there are not many high level engineers before you get to the standard level. There are a lot more opportunities to move up in management. Of course CTO is itself a management job that gives you a little time to look at something technical, and most of the high level technical positions under that are likewise more people jobs than technical.