[idunno246]

> I see this question as a serious career choice and if I don't do well as a manager I eighter waste time that I could spend on working towards my promotion or just get frustrated.

I've stayed on the IC track since I really don't want to deal with HR issues, but a lot of the other things greenyoda's listed are part of my job as well.

Promotions as you get higher in the IC track depend more and more on leadership. From what I see eng manager is like five roles, depending on the makeup of the team may be shared between tech lead and product/project managers(i'm infra focused so i dont get product managers). My manager and I are basically peers, and we split a lot of those roles up, but by doing both you can better understand why a manager is doing the thing theyre doing. If you really hate it, the skills you learn managing will still be extremely valuable as you move up higher up and not be a waste of time, whether it be empathy for a coworker's position, being able to sub in where needed on your team, or learning the bureaucracy outside your team to be able to push org/company wide tech initiatives forward better.

I'd suggest trying it if youre considering it, especially at a large company - I imagine there are a lot of experienced managers there who can provide mentorship, as opposed to a small company where many manager have little experience.