It is a normal progression. There are many paths, some examples; Programmer -> Architect Programmer -> Manager of Programmers Programmer -> Product Manager

It is a normal progression. There are many paths, some examples; Programmer -> Architect Programmer -> Manager of Programmers Programmer -> Product Manager Programmer -> Specialist (sometimes called SME or subject matter expert) Is it "Okay" is a personal choice. Some people miss programming, some don't. You mention you worry about "losing your edge." If I understand what you are saying by that it suggests that in your head you are still a programmer so you are thinking that people actively programming are keeping up with the latest frameworks and stuff and you will be less competitive in the job market because you didn't keep up. That is only a problem if you want to always be a programmer. Most people evolve in their jobs as they find out the things they are either good at or well rewarded for, versus what they thought they were good at. Someone who understands programming but can talk to customers has a different value to a business than someone who can just crank out code. Not that one is better or worse, they are different. When I manage groups I try to 'stack skills' and get complimentary sets in the people I hire so that the group as a whole is more skilled than any single individual. What that means is that if you demonstrated to me that you could accurately assess vendors "real" value from all of their sales literature then I've got one role for you, if you tell me you can turn anyone's idea into business logic in the code I have a different role for you, if you tell me that if bugs you that all this time is spent building the system that we could save if we just re-organized some of the steps, well I have a different role for you that leverages that too. Truth be told, "leet programming" is kind of a dead end job. Knowing what to program is a job you can do until you're 90. To make the latter work however you have to have some ability to bring people along (aka "soft" skills). Staying curious and learning new domains has kept me from becoming 'stale.' But predicting the future is impossible as far as I can tell.