Could you please talk about the kind of documentation you wrote? Was it always for the products that your company developed - was it end user manuals or docs for programmers? I am not sure exactly what I want to write, but at this point I am leaning towards writing for programmers (as it is more technically rewarding) than end users. I am also interested in articles like the priceonomics blog - data analysis and commentary.

It is disheartening to learn that after a decade your salary was capped at mid 70K. This is not the case with programming, I can assure you. Good luck with your transition - programming definitely can be (and it usually is) stressful, but it is more rewarding compared to a lot of other careers. I'm done with stress, that is why I am looking at other options.