Complete career change: have you done it?
Have a friend at a big hardware tech company (you probably have owned stuff they make). He's been there since '98 and now has a good deal of pull with the powers that be.
I've been a programmer for 15 years now and I've pretty much maxed out my potential $ without moving into management which I have no interest it and wouldn't happen anyways at this company... so basically my gig will look like it looks for the foreseeable future. I like my job too, in that it's almost always pretty chill, no travel, good people and I can ski powder / bike after work without problems.
So my buddy calls up and goes "Do you want a job?" He's looking to fill a position in technical marketing. More money (10-30k more), better benefits, work from home and probably 1 week of travel per month. Added stress of not really knowing WTF I'm doing for a while - travelling M-F with 2 kids at home - and working from home, which I'm not sure I would be very good at.
Anyways, just curious what others have done and of course... /diary