When I was a junior programmer (about 25 years ago), I thought it would be great to be a programming manager.
One day, a senior programmer told me he'd been a manager for a while. I was surprised-- I figured it was a step down to go back to coding. I asked him why he went back to programming.
His reply: "When you are a programmer, you have a boss above you that gives you tasks. When you are a manager, there is a boss above you and several people below you that bring you tasks. They nip at you from the top, and they nip at you from the bottom."
One day, a senior programmer told me he'd been a manager for a while. I was surprised-- I figured it was a step down to go back to coding. I asked him why he went back to programming.
His reply: "When you are a programmer, you have a boss above you that gives you tasks. When you are a manager, there is a boss above you and several people below you that bring you tasks. They nip at you from the top, and they nip at you from the bottom."
It made sense to me.