The fact that you were chosen for the migration team says a lot about what you have to contribute.

One thing I would spend some time on is the question "what did you/do you contribute that made you essential to that core group?". My guess is that those skills are not merely technical. Perhaps you guided the original design? Are good at communicating? Are good at making things happen? At problem solving? Getting people to work together?

Once you have identified what it is, the next question is: do you like those things about yourself? Are they worth developing? And if so how? My guess is that whatever they are, they will be attractive to your next employer. But they also have to be attractive to you if they are to be guides for the next stage in your employment journey. Enthusiasm is as important to a job hunt as anything else. It is important to develop skills you can feel (and potential employers/clients can see you feel) enthusiastic about applying.

Answering these questions may also help you make the decision about whether or not to strike out on your own. Running your own business (successfully) is *hard* work. On one hand, you might find the challenge exhilarating and an opportunity to develop new skills. On the other hand, you may decide that running a business is something you would rather "outsource". To a certain extent when you find an employer you are the one doing the hiring, not the employer. You are outsourcing all of the marketing, accounting, legalese, etc, etc. required to earn money.

As for language, answering these questions might also give you some hints about where your technical skills need to develop. For example,

• If you decide that technical innovation is your strong suit, then I strongly recommend learning *well* at least one object oriented and one functional oriented language (e.g. Java and Lisp). That will broaden your perspective and help you think more creatively about problem solving.
• If you decide that structuring things is more your speed, then languages/technologies that are are complementary to system design would be a good complement. Read some books on structured design, learn UML (there are some excellent UML design tools available in the open source world). Knowledge of at least one computer language often used on large project (C/C++/Java) is also a good move.
• If you decide that team dynamics and process are your strong suite, then learning about the pros and cons and "lingo" for different team and project management approaches, agile programming and others, may be more worth your time than another computer language
• If being on the bleeding edge of new technologies gets your goat, then take a stab at whatever standards, design paradigms, or technologies you think are emerging/hot and strive to create a niche for yourself in an emerging market.

By the way, an excellent book with some creative ideas for job hunts and learning about yourself is "What Color is your parachute". You probably already know about it, but just in case, I thought I'd mention it.

Best, beth

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