[hellified]

46, still in the game, though I admit the design portion holds much more fascination for me these days. To the OPs point, I do experience a great deal of pressure to head towards management every time I switch jobs. My rational is that when I get to the point where I can't absorb the minutiae, but can still see the big picture, maybe it's time for me to push the keyboard away and manage. Haven't gotten there yet (that I know of).

[Jaruzel]

45 here. I tried management roles for a few years at the end of my 30s, early 40s. Found out the hard way, that I'm no good at it. These days I've switched to Contracting, and focusing on niche solutions for Identity Management as an Architect.

I'm much happier like this.