After I graduated, I started working on mainframe (COBOL,...), after that on PC development (Notes/Domino),... always rather technical stuff.

But as you grow older, people start noticing other qualities about you (communication skills, mgmt skills,...). Skills that only show up when you've been working for at least a couple of years

So you get to do less and less hard-core technical stuff and more and more of the "soft" things: analysis, team leading, project mgmt....
Alas... there's no stopping it... it only gets worse in my experience.

So there's only one thing left to do: go with the flow and earn some money for your family (if you got one).
I mean: face it, the hard-core academical programming is NOT going to pay your bills, is it? (Well... not where I live ,anyway...)