If I had not gone to and experienced US in my early 30’s …

… I would most likely stay in Singapore for good. Perhaps would try China or Australia, but it’s unlikely with kids. The older the heavier the inertia.

… I wouldn’t even understand the meaning of tech specialization. Not needed in Singapore. …… I’m less likely to become local expert on Java or threading

… I would spend years between Unix administration and java/php/python dev. I would remain broad-based. I might even become a technical manager in a small shop, likely earning below $10k.

… I would probably try some even smaller start-up but may not take off.

… I would envy those older hands-on guys in US, Japan, Europe as I see myself in them.

… Kids would heavily influence my career direction but I would still have to make important career decisions based on the mega-trends, my situation (narrowing… stroll…)

… I would probably try pre-sales, like Guo Qiao.

… I would likely stay hands-on since management doesn’t look like my strength.

… I would try finance tech in Singapore, but probably fail, since the bar is too high.

… I would probably more seriously consider a Plan B — research/teaching, if my dev competitiveness stops growing.