[abrongersma]

My path started as Systems Admin -> DevOps/SRE -> Management.

Double down on your programming skills, cloud management and brush up on the infrastructure components. Your age / experience should actually add to your value. Subnetting, firewalls, routing, security baselines are things that are often overlooked by new people starting DevOps roles. This option also lends to doing consulting and contracting. You day job might earn you a bit less, but you'll be building out your skillset to use.

One of my biggest struggles as a manager is the ability to let go and stop trying to solve problems on my own. I had to work hard to realign the things about my role that are gratifying. If you measure your value by the code you ship, the tickets you close or the technical problems you solve then the move to management might be tough.

[throwaw0001]

I was thinking about going back to management.

Do you find roles through old-fashioned recruiters or business networks?

[abrongersma]

I found my last two management roles through the local tech community. Meetups, panels and conferences have done wonders for getting connected. Word of mouth has gone a really long way.