Seriously, good on you!

IMHO, it comes from years of being right. nerds are problem solvers. it's a thing they do, and they have years of experience in finding answers and having many moments where they can experience the feeling of not knowing something, thinking about it and then at some point finding out they were right. I am simplifying of course but the constant feeling of "being right" leads them to believe they will always be "right". Thus they become arrogant.

The problem is learning how to cope with people who will need your "brains" and not alienate them with your" arrogance" . try not talking. it's best to listen instead.

Just remember, you need the others too. No one will pull you from the wreckage if they don't like you. And you make a lot of mistakes being arrogant but you don't see them. so you are not really that smart.

good luck smart ass!

If you are able to work in financial markets or any old school systems, Perl will keep you in piles of money. I get offers everyday from large companies who need Perl programmers.

If you need to work remotely then try any coders for hire web services. you can quickly get paid for a weeks work. and move on or take more jobs. Usually spend a few months per project.

What is not mentioned here is that the methods by which those great tech startups got big.

" behind every great fortune is a great crime"

Apple
Microsoft
Facebook
Oracle
are all great heists

And thus it's good to study those crimes if you wish to become rich. The MBA is really good training for finding your mark to exploit and understanding risks..but anyone can steal.

Hey, I just turned 40 and I'm a Senior Dev at Big Bank too. I'm not at all worried about the future because for the last 5 years I've been a contractor, free to charge as much as I want and move where the money is. Working for yourself means not giving a $#!% about office politics.

To answer your questions:
1: As a contractor (in America) you can buy your own medical. It's about the same cost. Talk to a medical broker. They will do all the work for you.
2: Do what you like, if you haven't thought about managerial until now, you're not likely to "get it" or or be good at it.
3: Knowledge is Power. But the acquisition of a degree can also be a waste of time if you are expecting it to advance your career on it's own. An MBA is great training for being your own boss though.
4: Stop paying rent. Now is a great market to pick up something.

1: I personally found the Eye-Fi to be too slow and I had drain the battery and keep the laptop and camera on at the same time.
2: 3G data prices on vacation in not my home country are crazy.
3: having to do this in the only cafe that had wifi was nice the first day, then a chore every other day.
4: I didn't like spending my vacation working

so I use a product similar to this one. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/828315-REG/Digital_Foci_P19_320_PST_251_Photo_Safe_II.html

basically a portable HD with battery power and a card reader. I take the phone, tablet, camera and backup drive in a small hard shell case and leave the computer at home. the tablet is just the luxury item so I can view things in a larger format and only gets used on the plane or for research that the phone's screen is too small for. I really don't need it.

everything is backed up for when I return, and then I put it together .

If I absolutely have to work on the remote event, then it's camera > laptop [edit, select] > phone > 3g to web publish. Full online backup is going to cost significant time and money.

android, beagle or arduino versions of what you need