I'm a supervisor. Actually, I've worked in leadership roles more than I've worked in technicians roles. 6 years vs 7 years. In a myriad of industries as well.

The vast majority of my staff don't want to be a supervisor. They want to be a technician. If they can promote in a senior technician role and not take on any supervisory/admin work, that would be their preference. I fully support that. That's where subject matter experts come from.

Not everyone can handle the stress of leadership. Not everyone has the skillset needed. You saw it with your boss. Constant meetings and calls. Responsible for making decisions and committing to a plan of action before having all of the facts. You have to deliver the bad news with the good. Make choices to discipline or even terminate. It's not easy by any stretch. In my first few years as a supervisor, I didn't know how to manage that stress. I took it home with me, lost sleep, neglected relationships, etc. It took therapy and self-education to learn better.

Another secret, you don't magically gain that skillset just because your company promotes you. It comes from experience and education. Most companies ignore that and end up with crappy supervisors. You've met them. They micromanage because they are still technicians at heart. They never learned to step back or to consider the larger picture. When I became a staff sergeant in the Air Force, they send you to school to learn to be supervisor. After that, I got a bachelor's in management for my industry. Read dozens of books on coaching and communication skills. Go to grad school for more. I had to work hard to not be one of those useless supervisors. I fully understand and support anyone who wouldn't want to do all of that.

Where you see another big issue is folks that say they don't want to be a supervisor, but then get upset that they are paid as a technician. Or they try bossing others around and causing friction. If you truly want to remain a technician, please know that that closer to the norm, but do be careful to avoid those pitfalls.