an exit path is one where you earn enough from your career to obtain passive income and retire - preferably early enough to still have mental and physical strength left to do what you are passionate about, without having to worry about finances.
While that is a good path (the one I took BTW), an exit path could also mean transitioning to a different moderately-lucrative career. Or perhaps even the same career in a different business. I know quite a few people who avoid 90% of tech-industry BS by doing fairly basic kinds of automation and web stuff for other kinds of companies, local governments, or non-profits. They don't make anywhere near unicorn money, of course, but they're still well above median and generally seem happier than other people I know who are still in The Grind. If you already have some savings from those intense years, you can let them compound while the easier job takes care of current expenses.
What about federal jobs? The pay is definitely lower but it comes with amazing health insurance, you can stay for the rest of your career, move wherever you want, & they can’t really afford to be ageist—they don’t have enough candidates.
Ageism is so bad they didn't even bother include the complete sentence in the headline.
My main 'career goal' at the moment is find an exit path out of software development. Nothing else really matters. Its now or never.