That's a pretty common thing once ICs reach a certain age. I've seen it everywhere I've worked. Sometimes it's because they fear age discrimination but more com

That's a pretty common thing once ICs reach a certain age. I've seen it everywhere I've worked. Sometimes it's because they fear age discrimination but more commonly I've found it caused by the organization not providing a great career path beyond a certain level. With wisdom comes the ability to accept that it's OK to stick at an engineering career level for years at a time.