You took a low-reward, low-risk path. There will always be a need for web application plumbers, and the work will never be glamorous. But it will be there.
The flip side to a high-reward path is high risk. ML Ops is cool now, but ten years ago blockchain was cool. That hasn't really played out the way a lot of people thought it would, and those who went all-in may have wasted their time.
Then there are passion areas that are intrinsically cool, and the number of people willing to do this work will always exceed the number of jobs. Think video games.
You say you have kids, and in that case a low-reward, low-risk career was probably the prudent path to take. When people depend on you, the risk of failure is magnified, a lot.
The "correct" reaction to a midlife crisis is almost a trope now: you have it pretty good, don't rock the boat, don't screw things up.
If you have free time (I don't know how old your kids are) you can use that to explore new areas of technology. Just remember the grass is only greener when it's fertilized with BS, every passion eventually becomes just a job, and work does not define you.
> The "correct" reaction to a midlife crisis is almost a trope now: you have it pretty good, don't rock the boat, don't screw things up.
My advice: follow this "trope" at your own peril. When your soul isn't satisfied with the direction your life is going, shut up and pay attention. Sweeping it under the rug is the best way to face this demon, stronger and scarier, 25 years later, when it's too late to do something about it.
Source: another mid 30 person a few years deep into their midlife crisis, so feel free to disregard my advice.
I'm not even trying to say you're wrong, but how can you be your own source about what will happen 25 years later in your mid 30s? Did you first start doubting your career choices when you were 10?
By speaking with someone older than me, and by working through it with a therapist. Is this valid enough an answer? I offered a counter-argument to GP, but neither I nor GP have the "correct" solution to your particular crisis.
> If you have free time (I don't know how old your kids are) you can use that to explore new areas of technology.
To add further, once your kids are grown you will have time, savings, and a deeper experience to explore expertise. Keep on the path and build toward that future.
That said, if there was one thing I would become an expert in are soft skills and people/project management. That experience never goes out of date.
Low-risk can still be high-reward. The trade-off is time.
Cut burn, put money into index funds (or real estate if you can stomach the interpersonal aspect) and you will get there simply by virtue of betting on your society.
I disagree that it's the low risk, low reward path. The risk and reward isn't in the type of work but in the companies you choose. You can do boring low risk backend work, but at a startup with the opportunity to 100x your RSU's or lose your job.
The flip side to a high-reward path is high risk. ML Ops is cool now, but ten years ago blockchain was cool. That hasn't really played out the way a lot of people thought it would, and those who went all-in may have wasted their time.
Then there are passion areas that are intrinsically cool, and the number of people willing to do this work will always exceed the number of jobs. Think video games.
You say you have kids, and in that case a low-reward, low-risk career was probably the prudent path to take. When people depend on you, the risk of failure is magnified, a lot.
The "correct" reaction to a midlife crisis is almost a trope now: you have it pretty good, don't rock the boat, don't screw things up.
If you have free time (I don't know how old your kids are) you can use that to explore new areas of technology. Just remember the grass is only greener when it's fertilized with BS, every passion eventually becomes just a job, and work does not define you.