I did the independent thing for many years also, really enjoyed it although it had its own frustrations. I had to get a real job when I wanted to buy a house, the bank was not real keen on the small number of customers, some of which my receivables routinely ran in the 5 figures. My current position I started as a contractor.

Bob

>That's good. It's nice to hear about somebody who likes their job and has confidence in it that is not an independent.
>
>>Agreed, not a good balance
>>I code every day, I manage the direction of all the technology in the company, and I interact daily with the top management to keep things rolling in the right direction. I think it's a good balance for me.
>>
>>Bob
>>
>>>That's where I get frustrated. There has been times where I don't open Visual Studio for a month... most of the work is done in Excel.
>>>
>>>>Hi Mike,
>>>>
>>>>I actually prefer this to some degree, the real power of a good developer is to solve business problems. Being in a position to help drive a company in a profitable direction, you become more valuable. IT Management positions are where the big bucks are, but if you can get that and still be able to do a lot of coding too, that is the balance I look for.
>>>>
>>>>Bob
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>The problem here is that it is hard to find a pure "developing" job. I have found myself performing more of a business analyst role a lot.