> My worry when I read your first paragraph is that you haven't stayed anywhere for long enough to see the consequences of your actions. This would be a valid

> My worry when I read your first paragraph is that you haven't stayed anywhere for long enough to see the consequences of your actions. This would be a valid concern, and truth be told I haven't, apart from on/off maintenance of the systems I built for various clients. While I agree that this is a problem, in my experience a decently built system is not going to need some amazing maintenance that only a select few senior engineers can do. It's usually run of the mill maintenance. 80% small changes to the application that realistically can be undertaken by most mid-level developers, and the occasional 20% larger changes to modules, architecture, deployment and / or infrastructure, which might indeed warrant more senior roles, and it's usually when I get a call to be involved. If anything, in my "n = 1" I have found that management is a lot more powerful in both setting up consequences, as well as handling them, than your junior / mid / senior ICs. > Especially for senior positions: there's a reason why "seagull management" is a cliche. I've helped build teams that are still performing long after I am gone, with mostly procedures put I consulted with, after seeing so many teams fail / win. But you are right, I wouldn't hire myself for a senior managerial position out of the box because I am just too much of a flight risk and I don't have a visible track-record for this role; I would also not disregard my skillset and breadth of experience when it's needed just because I don't tick a certain pattern. My plan, whether stupid or not, is to continue accumulating experiences and knowledge for another 5 - 10 years (dare I dream 15?), moving to different projects (1 - 3 years) that suit my fancy, then move on and climb the ranks in a corporation from the bottom, all the way to top technical leadership. I feel a lot of companies will disregard me because I have this kind of fractured CV, but the one that won't might get a person with broad experience that also wants to 'settle down'. I am also very upfront and honest about my outlook. > It's a real problem, though -- as you say, there's no money or glory in building something for the long term. One of my most beloved projects (that I was involved in, not mine alone), is also one that I was paid the least amount of money on, and also I feel brings me the most glory; it involves a solution that saves lives daily. It's been running since a decade in production and the maintenance team has slowly dwindled down to only two people (one if I'm being realistic), and I don't think they'll need much more unless a revamp is required. Even though I love the project, my career would have looked a lot different if I chose to stay there and maintain the solution.