Joe,
if by hands on you mean actually picking up spanners and getting stuck in changing components, forget it. You
can do that, but I think your career would be a short one! As for managing personnel, that is a very important aspect of your job, particularly as a JEngO on a squadron, but that's not to say that a lot of this won't be delegated to your subordinates. Where your 'hands on' work lies, is in certifying the aircraft fit for flight when we can't get hold of spares, or have to make repairs to make do until the aircraft goes to a deeper maintenance. This is where your experience, education, and above all ability to hear the advice of your experienced techies (some of who will have been in the RAF for longer than you've been on the planet) comes into play.
Don't be too focused on the first job you'll be doing if you do end up as an EngO - there seems to be a variety of jobs that you'll end up doing. Also, take a good hard look at some of the threads here on pprune - look at what folk who are in the mob are complaining about
: wages, career prospects, morale, recognition of work, family life, out of area ops etc etc. The forces as a whole are changing rapidly, and they're not suiting some, whilst others are thriving on it.
*Catches breath, and retreats back to the tea bar*
