I'm in my mid-30's and was very reluctant to go in to management, wanting to code as I have done since my first job at 16. In the last 18 years I was happy being a developer, but over the course of the last few years I have come to the personal realization that I would need to eventually move in to a different role - I didn't want to wait too long either. I recently got the opportunity to move in to management and don't regret the decision. Sadly, it's brought me to 100% management, 0% development - but I make sure to review every pull request, knowing exactly what is going on. Additionally, I still work on little side projects of my own at night/weekends - it takes care of the itch to want to code, and it's stuff I am really passionate about.

As for salary - I believe I was getting close to plateauing as a developer in my area (for jobs I would want to do), and I have opened up my career and salary path a bit more.

Regarding looking for jobs - I moved from the agency world in my early 30's to the startup world. I am so much happier, even with the perceived risk, I believe it has made me far more marketable for future endeavors. I got to work on far more interesting things, and the people I've met after making the switch has helped me tremendously.