I did this myself for a good 15 years or so, but eventually with a family, money became a bit more of a priority, and it's hard to get a good job if all you've worked at is small shops. Any next role in a larger tech company will likely be a downgrade until you can prove yourself out, which of course you may not be able to because things are so different, and motivation will run low because you're being tasked with all the stuff that caused you to leave big tech in the first place. It can be quite miserable to be grouped with a bunch of kids with 3-5 YOE that have no idea how to build something from scratch, and they're outperforming you because they know the system.
In my case it took a good five years and a couple job hops to rebalance. But eventually you get back to a reasonable tech leadership role and back to making some of the bigger decisions to help make the junior devs' lives less miserable.
No regrets, but the five years it takes to rebalance can be pretty hard.
In my case it took a good five years and a couple job hops to rebalance. But eventually you get back to a reasonable tech leadership role and back to making some of the bigger decisions to help make the junior devs' lives less miserable.
No regrets, but the five years it takes to rebalance can be pretty hard.