Steve,

Five years ago I was the CEO (again) of a mid-life crisis startup. I was up to my eyeballs in managing money, people, customers, and software development (again!). I'd done the same thing years earlier, founded, ran (for 16 years), and sold a software company. One day I decided to take a class at a local university in Flash development and programming. I started my career in computers in 1973, so let's just say I was the oldest person in the class. What I found in that class was a passion I had forgotten, the thrill of hands-on development.

Fast forward to today. I am a DBA and manage a data warehouse and a team of 2 in a small organization that is part of a massive global company. Everyday I write code, debug problems, deal with system level changes, your readers know the drill. It was a conscious decision I made to unshackle myself from the stresses of being “the one that everyone turns to for answers.”

To get here, I returned to school and finished with a BS in business systems and am now in a Masters program. My decision to not pursue high-end high stress opportunities meant taking a big cut in pay at a time when we were putting three kids through college but it also meant coming home every night, no travel (which previously was every week) and a chance to reconnect with my local community. It was a plan that I carefully thought through, discussed with my family and pursued. Now I carpool with my wife to work, perform in local musicals, volunteer in our community, and travel with my family for fun. All of us agree the family has benefited despite the reduction in salary.

When I interviewed for this job, after reading through a resume’ with 30 plus years of IT experience, my boss asked me “won’t you be bored here?” to which I replied, “that’s what hobbies are for!”:-D