(Edited: title changed to use the word "fuck", which is a great way to get more visibility on HN. Also I tl;dr'd it.)<p>What would you recommend for someone that has fully resolved to change their career from developer to X, but has no answer to the question: "What is X?"<p>If there are career counselors that could help, how would you suggest finding one that would give good advice? What books and/or tests would help for those that are in a similar situation, have fully decided that they are on the wrong path, and who have abandoned almost all hope?
Do you like/tolerate teaching people? You could probably make a decent amount of money teaching people to code while not actually doing much of it yourself. If that's out of the question, you should ask yourself how physical you want your new career to be. If you're not afraid of manual labor, self employed plumbers and electricians make a killing and are always in demand (no sarcasm intended btw).
The recommended books for a person in your situation are from Barbara Sher.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Sher" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Sher</a><p>You can usually find them for a few dollars at a used bookstore.
Logical paths might be connected to your development work. Clients, vendors, or other related companies might know you and be interested in hiring you.