With all due respect...

Manage my career? Let's see... I started in 1977 and have been through 3 mergers winding up in layoffs, 3 startup companies that went nowhere, countless independent projects and consultancies that were fun, but were pretty much short term... I am an expert in about 5 "dead" languages barely used anymore, about 10 operating systems that are either going or gone, 2 database systems that have been bought up and disappeared... and worst of the worst, right at the time I thought my career would be 'winding down', I study harder today to stay up on the myriad of technologies that are flooding the market now - and who knows which ones will last and which will drop off the road along the way.

No, there is no "managing" my career - I am what I am - a "digital whore" - you pay me, and I do it how you want it, the way you want it, and when you want it done.

I've made great money, I like my work, but the truth is the truth - any career in high technology manages you, you don't manage it. You ride the flood of new gizmos, gadgets and the tools to make them work - and you do so realizing that the digital kingdoms you build or oversee wont last much longer than the life span of the average house cat.