It's all about impact and influence.

I have been in IS management for 20 years, having done most tech roles prior, mostly development.

Management is where you get to participate in how your organisation is really going to get where it wants to be. Although staff at all levels get to participate at certain times, as a manager you will get to really start to steer things.

Towards the end of a recent role as Head of IT, I was itching to get my hands dirty again and took an opportunity to get back on a project, while looking for a replacement for myself. Seemed great until they arrived and suddenly my access to top level decision makers started to dry up - great fun developing again but when things needed to steer better then I was out of the loop,

So it isn't really about the the soft option of management - and most of the tech's I know are as hide bound as hell and deeply resistant to change - it is about whether it is important to you that you want more of a say in the direction and strategy that your organisation is taking.

I mostly work for large non-profits, at the £100m turnover or above, at it is fantastic to be at the top table moving these well meaning but sometime ponderous groups towards more dynamic and interconnected futures. Can't really do that from the shop floor ...