The transition from engineer to manager can be one of the most dramatic career moves an individual makes. This paper examines the similarities and differences between the roles of engineer and manager along six dimensions: activities, perceptions, thinking, feeling and learning processes, and performance. Because, in many organizations, becoming a manager is the most common path to advancement, it is important to identify the new skills required, the barriers to be overcome, and the satisfactions to be anticipated. The purpose of this paper is to help the individual engineer make an informed judgment about his/her career path, to help the incumbant manager who has already made the choice to understand the changing dynamics of his/her work, and to provide information to the organization so that more effective selection of managers can be made.