Title: I started wondering about this in the recent STEM thread.  As someone now in their early 30s I&#x27;m starting to wonder what the mid-late career as a software developer looks like.<p>Do you have to go into management to continue progressing upwards in pay and influence? I know this isn&#x27;t the case at some companies (e.g. Google), but is it rare or common to progress as an individual contributor?<p>Is there a plateau in pay? Is there a drop in pay switching jobs after a certain number of years experience because places are looking for 5+ instead of 20+?<p>Are older devs not looking for new jobs because they have families and want more stability&#x2F;are focussed elsewhere?<p>Is becoming a specialist rather than a generalist the answer?<p>And lastly: if you&#x27;re in your late 30s, 40s, 50s, what are you doing at your job? What are the older people in your workplace doing?
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