I really feel this statement. I'm being forced out of a company that is struggling to pay my salary, after almost 18 years. This is a career where I taught myself and continued (and continue) to improve. I know that my best skill is the ability to solve unique problems, and that's mostly been from needing to complete a project or the business loses their time and money. For most of my career, I have been the sole developer, and impostor syndrome is real and haunting. Having HN, and following various news and blog sources, I think I am in a good place with my knowledge. It's just transferring to another company after almost two decades that is the scary part.
Having a senior position, but still very much wanting to be involved in coding and architecture, makes me nervous that I won't be able to keep my same lifestyle without going into full-time management. Problem solving is often tossed to the side for a "good enough" answer. I understand that as a business need, but when things start to get really complicated, pulling in an existing library or solution is often not possible.