[lmpessoa]

I want to give my 50¢ of advice here since I am too on my 40s and also began coding as young as 30 years ago.

After a certain time I realised that I would never be hired to work with what I really love doing and focused on working to pay the bills and use my spare time to pursue my real interests on my own. Some of the apps I wrote got to see the light of day and some not. Did it bring me money or recognition, no, but I certainly felt realised knowing what I can achieve or even for the fun part of it. I currently work with more managerial tasks related to cybersecurity, with no coding skills required, but it never stopped me from coding at all. I expect no recognition for the work I do there (but someone will sure want our heads at the next breach). There is too much politics at the office out of our control and to me that's where most BS comes from.

I've had my M.S. some years ago and it may be great to improve the code you write, but I would recommend it more for the networking, meeting and discussing with new people and raising new ideas. Currently I'm in the middle of a new undergrad course in architecture (building's architecture, not software architecture), a newly found passion discovered almost by accident. And I'm even considering another M.S. in this area. What can I say, I love the academic environment just didn't get to be a professor (yet).

So this is what I'd give as advice: No, matter how much they try to sell it to you you're not family. You give them your knowledge and time and they pay your bills (extra hours are not free), that's the exchange you're in for. Your work is not worth your real family so be there for them, spend quality time with them, do family stuff together. Find out what you like doing. Pursue your passions away from the office and get in touch with real people whenever you can, be it in an academic environment or a local group (you can even try and start one if there is none in your area but even community work does it).