This post is terrific. To sum it up –

• Don’t call yourself a programmer, which is a codeword for peon. You’re an engineer.
• Engineers are hired to create business value, not to program.
• If you’re not working for a revenue center – i.e. if you can’t tie your work directly into reducing costs or adding revenue – get a job where you can.
• Coworkers and bosses are not your friends.
• Sending in a resume to an ad / Dice position is for losers. Most hiring is done behind the scenes, for positions that never hit publicly. So network.
• You’re not defined by your chosen software stack. Look for opportunities to branch out and try new things. Pilot projects rock.
• Modesty doesn’t sell. Neither to buzzwords. If you can’t explain what you do to an eight year old, try it again – and make sure you can communicate how you create value.
• … and at the end of the day, your life happiness will not be dominated by your career.

That last point, I buy into mentally but not yet emotionally. I do tend to invest quite heavily in the success of project X or company Y. Isn’t life simpler when we’re more heavily invested in our OWN success?