I'm not that old. Some may think I am at my peak but at 37 years old, I feel drained by 18 years of the IT Web industry. From HTML, XHTML, HTML5, CSS 2/3, Javascript, Prototype, jQuery, ASP, JSP, PHP, Ruby, Python, MS Access, Postgres, MySQL, hBase, Mongo, Zend, Rails, Django, Drupal, NodeJS, CakePHP, Linux, OSX, DNS, SMTP, Cloud Hosting, I have had my fill. I can teach at a college but can't get a government job without a degree yet I have security clearance; what!?
I get so confused nowadays with things as they don't make much sense anymore. As far as technology, there is always something bigger, better, greater, something that carries some stupid "buzzword" and I have been keeping up with as much as I can to stay marketable; but at what cost and what benefit? I can't get paid more for some reason; I just end up working harder with the more knowledge I gather. Where is the tradeoff?? Am I to live my entire life "stuck here"?
I want to be great at something but I picked a trade that demands that an individual knows "everything". I have a security clearance, I teach part-time at Montgomery College, I provide for my family of four yet I feel like I live in welfare and am not particularly happy with my job most of the time. I frequently have this internal feeling that I just need to be left alone.
Don't get me wrong, I love my career in web development but there are so many moving parts and languages and they keep changing; I am getting pretty fed-up with trying to stay ahead. I am not the best developer but do my best at everything and make sure to follow reason and rules of convention.
I guess I just need a peaceful break, things are "eating" at me too much.
