I'm a bit older than most of my peers, having come into programming in my mid 30's. The thing is, I love what I do. Most of my project managers and bosses are my age or younger. I'm really OK with that.

I, however, have no desire to climb the company ladder. While I regularly take on the responsibility of making sure that projects get done and my peers often look to me for programming and architectural guidance, I just like writing code and want to keep doing it for as long as possible.

Honestly, my only real goal is grow into being a crusty old tech lead until I retire. IF I retire. I would so much rather learn the latest and greatest new technology than PMP my resume.

Are there others out there who feel like this because I often feel rather alone in my pathology?

EDIT

Something I didn't make clear is that I really like helping and mentoring other developers. It makes me feel good and useful and (to be brutaly honest) important.