I’m in my late 50’s, and I still love making software, maybe even more now than when I was younger. What’s happened to me over decades as a professional is that I’ve totally lost any interest in “career” or the large corporate entity that employs me. Once any organization grows beyond about 20 people, it starts to become dysfunctional, so I’ll be retiring the day I can convince my spouse we have enough money. That will give me more time to work on things I care about, including software.
A large org is a totally different beast from a small org, and yet they seamlessly transition into each other. So, a large org is dysfunctional when viewed through the lens of a small org. A large org is also dysfunctional when it is run like a small org, as is a small org when it's run like a large org.
I think people just have unrealistic expectations about humans ability to manage anything. We label things as dysfunctional, yet dysfunction is the norm. I think it gives a slightly warped sense of what the norm is since it implies that things ought to be functioning properly but they aren't. When really it's usually just par for the course.
