If you have the right personality and don't mind traveling, technology consulting can still be a rewarding and lucrative career.

I was fortunate enough to work in Europe for over a year and in South America, all before I was 24. And interacting with C-level executives has been a valuable networking experience. I've spent the last few years working with major companies on a variety of ERP and strategy projects. However, I've been able to do this with a smaller firm. I imagine that the big-5 firms would have more of the "race to the bottom" mentality.

Also, consulting keeps you on the business side of computing and away from the drudgery of hardware and software development, and therefore making you more valuable to your customers. Whenever I hear people complain about the IT industry, I'm not sure that I understand. If you are passionate about what you do and truly talented, you should have plenty of options to get out of stifling environments.

Delta already offers this service on many of its domestic flights. I've been using it for the last few months on my flight from Atlanta to Philly.