I'm nowhere near of 50 years of experience but even with my 15 I can see the trend you describe. I feel natural progression is to move towards management or closer to business. If I am lucky enough to gain 50 years of experience I aim to do software as hobby (same as I was "feeling" it when I was a teenager) and gain business experience including network of contacts so I can do consulting.. Of course, best scenario would be not to have to work at that point but I plan for the worst.