Well, aside from a couple of years as a group leader, I've coded my ass off for my entire 30+ year career. Granted, it's in a specialized, scientific field but

Well, aside from a couple of years as a group leader, I've coded my ass off for my entire 30+ year career. Granted, it's in a specialized, scientific field but it's what I feel I am good at and what I chose to do. And was fortunately able to do it. During the group leader time, I realized that the books were right - I had no time to code for anything more than the occasional bug fix or code review. My job was to make it easier for my people to code (ie, do THEIR job). I tried to handle all of the meetings I could so they did not have to break concentration and go. I participated in the market and bug reviews, ... Necessary job, but it wasn't one I preferred and have not gone back into this kind of work. Do I miss being aware of everything about a product and its schedule, yeah. It was nice to be in the know even if I was responsible for it. Now, I have to trust my coworkers to do their work as they trust me to do mine. One's "edge" is whatever is required to get good, stable, maintainable code out the door that satisfies users. Whether this is the code itself, the GUI, the planning... Whatever is required to get things done. With luck, you can choose your role to suit your interests.