[rwoodley]

What a question! If you don't like what you're doing, do something else. Life is short.

I'm 57. I've been programming since I was 14 in 1974.

Engineering is an exciting profession that applies creativity to complicated technical domains. So it uses your whole brain: you have to master a technical area, and then be creative and build things. What's not to like?

I am always learning. I am now learning elixir, a functional language build on erlang. I have lost count of the number of languages I've learned over the years. I am comfortable on Windows, OSX, and Linux.

Honestly, if you're burned out I get it. But to 'keep the fire' just requires you to have some imagination and remind yourself how cool this profession is.

And by the way, I love being challenged by my younger colleagues. They are a conduit for new approaches and ideas and are essential to grow an org. But yes, I have experience about what is likely to work and what won't - based on many failed projects where I learned what not to do the next time.