How to get the programming passion back after turning manager

Hi,

I've been working in IT consulting since 2004, having gone up the ladder from junior programmer to manager since.

Coming from a computer science background, I love programming, but I find it increasingly difficult (if not impossible altogether) to work on the stuff I love, i.e., building solutions from the ground up. I get lost in status meetings, status reports, hr, budgeting, and all the managerial stuff.

I have to admit that the pay is interesting, but the job is not that interesting anymore.

How can I get back the passion I used to have during my programming days? Can I go back to programming without seeing much of a hit on my paycheck?

My experience with programming managers is pretty crappy. I don't like many and the few that I do like, I can't work with.

Of those managers that I do like, they did all the status meetings, etc... and actively participated with the team. Reviewed code, made suggestions, hot fixed a problem or two. They were never condescending about the suggestions or fixes, in fact, the changes were welcomed.

From this anecdote you can take this away. Don't be the manager that sits around and shuffles paperwork all day. Do some interesting stuff with the team. If a couple devs are taking a little longer than normal, odds are they are stuck and are too embarrassed / head strong to ask for help.

Your job is what you make of it. If you feel like it's shit, it probably will remain that way until you change your thinking.

That, in fact, is something that I used to do quite a lot, but I seem to get less and less time to keep doing. It seems I just have to keep on pushing... Thanks for the feedback anyway.