Sounds a bit like my story, although I suspect I'm a bit older. I wanted to bail for several years and then one of the recessions led to my department being downsized. Took the opportunity to move abroad. Missed some of the tech work but having a hardware background made it hard to do much where I live. Then with the rise of MOOCs I was able to pick up software skills and do some projects. And now with so much cheap hardware and components coming out of China with free shipping to my location I can do all manner of hardware + software projects. Currently into creating robotics projects for young kids.