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I'm going to recommend the book Passionate Programmer. The first edition of the book was called "My Job Went to India." Much of the book is about how to keep your skills up to date by identifying where you are weak, and how to get into a better place both technically and business-savvy. On another threadanother thread, I posted a number of books that I recommend for folks who have the development "thing" down, but don't have the skills to deal with offices and office politics.

In contrast to the other answers, I'm going to recommend getting a couple certifications (pick something you know), and that you update the certs every couple of years. As a one-time adventure, certs are not that great - they represent a snapshot that you knew technology X on date Y. As an ongoing endeavor, it shows prospective employers that you keep up with newer technology and you don't rest on what you did decades ago. I am also a developer, and my focus is .NET. As a result, I've had Microsoft certs since 1998, and every couple of years I get a newer 4-letter certification. So I can point to this progression as evidence that I don't slack off when it comes to keeping up with technology.

I've spent most of the last seven years creating intranet interfaces for databases, or creating online reports

The buzzwordy name for this is "business intelligence." Being good with Crystal Reports or Pentaho (there is an open source version) or SSIS might be a new direction to take your career.

I'm going to recommend the book Passionate Programmer. The first edition of the book was called "My Job Went to India." Much of the book is about how to keep your skills up to date by identifying where you are weak, and how to get into a better place both technically and business-savvy. On another thread, I posted a number of books that I recommend for folks who have the development "thing" down, but don't have the skills to deal with offices and office politics.

In contrast to the other answers, I'm going to recommend getting a couple certifications (pick something you know), and that you update the certs every couple of years. As a one-time adventure, certs are not that great - they represent a snapshot that you knew technology X on date Y. As an ongoing endeavor, it shows prospective employers that you keep up with newer technology and you don't rest on what you did decades ago. I am also a developer, and my focus is .NET. As a result, I've had Microsoft certs since 1998, and every couple of years I get a newer 4-letter certification. So I can point to this progression as evidence that I don't slack off when it comes to keeping up with technology.

I've spent most of the last seven years creating intranet interfaces for databases, or creating online reports

The buzzwordy name for this is "business intelligence." Being good with Crystal Reports or Pentaho (there is an open source version) or SSIS might be a new direction to take your career.

I'm going to recommend the book Passionate Programmer. The first edition of the book was called "My Job Went to India." Much of the book is about how to keep your skills up to date by identifying where you are weak, and how to get into a better place both technically and business-savvy. On another thread, I posted a number of books that I recommend for folks who have the development "thing" down, but don't have the skills to deal with offices and office politics.

In contrast to the other answers, I'm going to recommend getting a couple certifications (pick something you know), and that you update the certs every couple of years. As a one-time adventure, certs are not that great - they represent a snapshot that you knew technology X on date Y. As an ongoing endeavor, it shows prospective employers that you keep up with newer technology and you don't rest on what you did decades ago. I am also a developer, and my focus is .NET. As a result, I've had Microsoft certs since 1998, and every couple of years I get a newer 4-letter certification. So I can point to this progression as evidence that I don't slack off when it comes to keeping up with technology.

I've spent most of the last seven years creating intranet interfaces for databases, or creating online reports

The buzzwordy name for this is "business intelligence." Being good with Crystal Reports or Pentaho (there is an open source version) or SSIS might be a new direction to take your career.

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I'm going to recommend the book Passionate Programmer. The first edition of the book was called "My Job Went to India." Much of the book is about how to keep your skills up to date by identifying where you are weak, and how to get into a better place both technically and business-savvy. On another thread, I posted a number of books that I recommend for folks who have the development "thing" down, but don't have the skills to deal with offices and office politics.

In contrast to the other answers, I'm going to recommend getting a couple certifications (pick something you know), and that you update the certs every couple of years. As a one-time adventure, certs are not that great - they represent a snapshot that you knew technology X on date Y. As an ongoing endeavor, it shows prospective employers that you keep up with newer technology and you don't rest on what you did decades ago. I am also a developer, and my focus is .NET. As a result, I've had Microsoft certs since 1998, and every couple of years I get a newer 4-letter certification. So I can point to this progression as evidence that I don't slack off when it comes to keeping up with technology.

I've spent most of the last seven years creating intranet interfaces for databases, or creating online reports

The buzzwordy name for this is "business intelligence." Being good with Crystal Reports or Pentaho (there is an open source version) or SSIS might be a new direction to take your career.