If you are considering moving back to a technical career, perhaps my experience (over the last 34 years) will be of use to you. There is an excellent living to

If you are considering moving back to a technical career, perhaps my experience (over the last 34 years) will be of use to you. There is an excellent living to be made purely as a technical person without having to unduly fear your job going to younger folks. I chose to take six months off each year since 2001 (*). I have never had anyone report to me ever, yet I have strived to be good enough technically that I am often the person people turn to, from higher management to the entry-level programmer. I do short-term consulting engagements (almost always hands on technical work), and I am never in a hurry to get the next gig. This is what I have learnt. First, think in terms of entire systems. Clients pay, and pay handsomely, for honest solutions to their (technical) problems. Don't think of the solution as a "coding" issue alone. There's design (of interfaces, of documentation), there is hardware (IoT, network), there are deployments with 24/7 operations, there are installations in unforgiving environments ( sensors in a corrosive humid tank) and so on. Each one of this is a technical challenge. At the end of the day, clients want a system that is a pleasure to use and is maintainable and extendable by someone else. Second, get good at all aspects of delivering a system entirely on your own. That is, you don't have to do it by yourself, but you should be decent enough to pitch in as a replacement for any part. This provides opportunities for endless learning, and in my experience, breadth of experience is rewarded. Third, many real-world problems are not shiny and cool, and younger people don't want to do them. HN is biased towards Open GPT more than say, wastewater management systems, so one could be forgiven for feeling uncool and out of date all the time. Nah, it is a big world out there. And there's plenty of opportunity to use Rust or Elixir or whatever tickles your fancy. Fourth, if you go my way (not working one's tail off for the whole year), I'd advise you to downscale expectations in terms of money and lifestyle. Once you learn to make peace with making less money, you will find that you will have loads of work coming your way, enough time and plenty of money to enjoy life where it counts. Most good things in life (health, travel, books, sports, entertainment, vacations) are surprisingly affordable. And you need time to enjoy them with your loved ones. Good luck. (*) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21645117 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21645117