Hard and enjoyable sometimes don't go hand in hand. When you say hard, does it mean it's not also rewarding or enjoyable? I ask because I have been pushed to start working towards the management track by my managers but have always rejected it. I still don't feel the want/need to manage.
Personally it has been a really mixed bag. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and have a high sense of ownership of the things in working on. That can get really difficult when I personally am not happy with a high level decision, but have to toe the company line. Your team takes a lot of cues from you, so you need to be really careful what you present to them.
Also think about what you want to get from a management role. If you want prestige, you wont get it because you should be giving away all credit to your team. If you want interesting tasks, you wont get them because you should give them to your team.
Thinking about it now, it's like when you grow up and realize you can have ice cream for every meal, but you also recognize it's a really bad idea. You can do whatever you want with your team, but you know you need to be responsible.
I was similar to you, I wasnt really interested in the role. The thing that made me accept it was that I wanted to know if I could do it. It turns out I can, but it is draining in ways that coding never was.
Dont get me wrong, I dont regret it for a second. I have learnt so much in the last year and the experience has made me a better person. I understand a lot better how things work behind the scenes in companies, which will serve me well for the rest of my career.
Overall, I think it is worth trying and is an extremely valuable experience. The rewards are completely different and whether or not they are enough depends entirely on you. Personally, I'm considering a switch back to IC, but I do not regret my time in management.
