I am a 40 year old female whose been coding since I was 23. College degree but not in comp sci. Completely self taught. I have never felt more at the top of my game as I do right now! In my "short" time as a developer I've worked for startups, fortune 500s and did 7 years at Amazon. I've had a large amount of experience on both coasts. So far I've had zero problems being recruited. I tend to mark that up to the presence of amzn on resume. Names do open doors for better or worse it's true.

I did take a small pay cut when I left the startup for a larger company. Mainly because the startup was grossly over paying me. However I got a bonus up front and my performance the first year earned me a merit raise back in line with my former salary. I've now surpassed that. So far no plateau.

I'm currently trying to make the decision to move into management. In my current role as a tech lead I do a lot of management anyway so why not get the title and a salary bump? The only options at my next promotion is manger or architect so if I stay there it's the time to make that decision. It probably helps that I don't care much for developing in our stack. I do code a significant amount on my own projects to offset that though. In my early 30's I was so burned out from coding that I thought I needed to quit programming. I realized I really just needed to quit amzn. :) no matter what I decide I'll always code I just may not do it as a part of my job. I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping current. That plus experience is what will keep you marketable.