[burnallofit]

Early 50's here. I am switching jobs now, I'm at the top of my game, and getting the biggest money I've ever made. There are several factors, I believe. First, keep up to date. Certain things are really popular right now and therefore attract the best pay, and more jobs are available. Second, be in the right place. For example, SF Bay Area only has so much housing but has a lot of companies who are hiring, so they are competing for the people who are here. Third, project confidence because you are in fact awesome because of all the cool shit you've built. If you walk in to interviews resigned to making less money or a taking a step down, I bet you'll find that actually turns out to be true. Fourth, on a regular basis (once a month or so) you should be having conversations with your manager about your career and next steps, and taking time to work on getting there.

One more protip. At a higher level, moving up further does not mean being a better coder. It means talking to people (often on different teams), thinking and generating ideas (and applying for patents), sometimes taking risks to prove those ideas, figuring out how to improve process, and generally communicating. If you believe you're not good at any of these, you can actually study and practice them and get better at them. I did, and it's working out for me.