I'm 38, and started programming at 8 years old in BASIC on the Apple ][. If ever I find myself unable to convince anyone to pay me to code, I will still work o

I'm 38, and started programming at 8 years old in BASIC on the Apple ][. If ever I find myself unable to convince anyone to pay me to code, I will still work on my side projects at night while doing something else (for money) during the day. As far as my "working life", I try to keep myself challenged by seeking out interesting projects. Generally this means changing employers every couple of years, but this gets more difficult the more 'senior' (and expensive) you become. I really would like to settle in at a company that can keep me challenged and growing, but most employers put zero effort into developing and retaining their software engineers (too easy to find new ones, I guess). For example, my current employer (less than a year) has me doing legacy software maintenance (not the type of work I was promised when hired), which is doing nothing for my career (probably causing active harm) and is boring as hell (no architecture/design/SE work, no challenging CS problems, no leadership responsibility) - it's the kind of work I'd expect to be doing in my 60s when I'm coasting into retirement (assuming I can stand it even then). So I'm interviewing again. I hate interviewing.