20+ years as well and this is spot on. I've also been up and down the ladder including coding, management, director, etc. I eventually decided I liked the technical path much more, and that freedom was a very important value for me, so I took the jump to be independent 10+ years ago.

I originally started with multiple contracts doing various support and project work, these days i'm almost exclusively project work that i'm interested in. This puts me back in full control of my time, and I can (and do) take periods of time off.

You may have to slog it out at the beginning of your career, depending on your luck, but you'll develop "career capital" and can leverage it to do what you enjoy the most.