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Back in the 90’s I was a COBOL programmer. A friend from COBOL school (back in 1982) was a manager at the same company. Yeah, he moved through the ranks faster than me. Anyway, after I became a contractor and moved on to greener pastures in contracting, we had lunch one day and he told me something interesting.

He told me about looking at a row of desks all occupied by contractors. He told me that some were Americans and some were Indians on visa. The Indians were actually somewhat more productive and “hungry”. But here was the amazing part: He said the americans billed at $75 an hour, while the indians billed at $17.50.

So, what did that mean for me? It meant that by the late 2000’s I had migrated to Project management and Business analysis. The reason is simple: They were both communication intensive, and I knew Indians would have a hard time migrating to that role. And it served me well until my retirement four years ago.

But in the “FWIW” lane: I really enjoyed programming and was DAMNED GOOD AT IT! I hated project management and business analysis...but it paid the bills. Also, by the last few years of my career I was doing what they now have a name for: I was quiet quitting.