I gave up engineering to manage and I miss it - was it worth it?

You traded the craft you loved for the work of growing other people, and now you mourn the engineer you were and wonder if the trade was fair. That grief is real. Building things with your own hands gave you a joy that managing does not replace in the same way. Let yourself miss it honestly, without pretending the promotion erased the loss. But look again at what you actually chose. You did not abandon engineering. You multiplied it, through every person you taught, unblocked, and made better. The engineer you were built systems. The leader you became builds engineers, who build far more than you ever could alone. That is not a lesser thing. It is a different, quieter form of the same craft. Still, you do not have to give up the joy of building entirely. Keep one small technical thing that is yours, a side project, a bit of hands-on work, a way to stay close to the craft. Mourn the trade honestly, and then look clearly at what you gained. The engineer you were is not dead. He grew into someone who now makes other engineers possible.