Mostly I'm just rambling and drinking Bell's "The Oracle", so take this for what it is worth. Maybe not even 2 cents. I've been coding for hire since I was 13

Mostly I'm just rambling and drinking Bell's "The Oracle", so take this for what it is worth. Maybe not even 2 cents. I've been coding for hire since I was 13, and I'm in my early 50's. I always loved electronics so about 20 years ago I moved into embedded. I left the rat race of the latest language / latest libraries etc. I code in straight C and maybe some assembly if the task demands it. I feel I get better every year, and the demand and pay shows that. The only thing I've noticed is that I'm slower to anger and more willing to listen to ideas, but like you said, my BS meter is very sensitive. About the only age-related thing I've noticed is that it takes me longer to heal when I injure something. I can't participate as easily with softball on the parking lot or even frisbee. I'm not an expert; I truly learn something new EVERY DAY. The difference now is that I can often out-think my coworkers that are in their 20's, all from experience. About twice a year I get to work on things that have never been done before. Mostly, though, it is state machine after state machine, but to be honest, I've never found a lack of motivation with embedded. It seems that there will always be a need for firmware down on bare metal. At least I'm banking on it, and plan to be doing this for 20 more years or so. As far as "making it big", I don't care. That was never a huge goal. I just wanted to provide for my family and retire some day. PC app development is a different story. I was burned one too many times and cannot concentrate to write ANYTHING. Why that is (or what the difference is) I don't know.