I'm kinda sick of the boom and bust and grind. Don't really know where to go next, I don't see that many alternative well-paying jobs out there.
If we lose the developer career path, what the hell is left?
I invest and save aggressively. So a bust cycle lasting a few years won’t matter to me.
Additionally, keep life expanses reasonable and not getting sucked into consumerism keeps the cost of living low.
(a man of your talents?)
The awkward truth is that every other job you can take will appear inefficient. After some time you'll crave a computer to come do aspects of that job too... and hey presto, you're back on a client, coding up some automation feature.
Your subtle observations about inventory management, scheduling and mathematical errors in planning, bugged management so much they took you off 'normal work'. Then you're tasked with automating easy coding tasks that are hard because of outdated company structures, with limited oversight and no fellow bro-grammers to get you out of a jam.
If you do manage to 'lose' a programming job, please tell me how. This career is a one-way ticket to infinity, because you know.
Forget well-paying, I haven no idea what I CAN do that's not programming. Sure I can try working as a teacher or as a nurse - but that's all it will be - trying. I might despair, burn out etc. Even people who are on paper better suited to these jobs burn out all the time. I'm 39 so it's not going to be an easy switch. I hope we all have 5-10 more years in the industry, that's enough time to save enough money.