[beatgammit]

And if you have leadership experience, you could always step back into that role if the needs of the company change (e.g. project lead leaves the company and they need someone to fill in until they get a replacement).

My previous company saw project management as a step up, whereas I see it as just another role. Many engineers make poor project leads, and many project leads make poor engineers. Unfortunately, our society values "people" jobs like leadership positions more than technical jobs, so people will see it as a downgrade (especially those in management).

Ignore that noise and do the thing you like that helps you meet your other goals (financial, lifestyle, etc).