As 2002 draws to a close, many of us find ourselves reflecting on the past year. There are many things we can be thankful for, primarily that this year wasn't nearly as cataclysmic as last year. Unless, of course, you happen to be one of those CEOs who was busted big time.

In many cases, the highest level of the corporate food chain is finally feeling the sting of the technology industry's "boom and crash." But those in the engineering trenches have been desperately treading water for the last couple of years.

An unfortunate result of this recent history is the following scenario that we've seen played out in numerous interviews and across many résumés. Perhaps the story may be familiar to you as well.

A senior engineer we know, who spent 10+ years going up a logical career ladder at a well-established company, was bitten by the pre-IPO bug in late 1999. He interviewed with a hot new startup, got a great offer, and gave notice to his long-time employer.

But on his first day at the new company, he discovered that the VP of engineering who hired him was gone. Six months later the company folded completely and the engineer set out on an odyssey from one job to another, only to find those companies downsizing or folding.

Suddenly the engineer's focus shifted from "Where is my career going?" to "Where is my next paycheck coming from?"

Through friends and networking contacts, he was able to get jobs unrelated to his core expertise, but he's smart, able to pick up new skills quickly - and there is that mortgage to consider. At first the move seemed interesting and exciting as he started learning new technologies. But the pattern of cutbacks and layoffs continued.

The result is a résumé that now lists three or four different jobs since 2000; they look like contracts, but were actually full-time positions. Anyone in a hiring position in the technology industry understands what's been going on over the past few years, and that companies folding is hardly a reflection on the candidate in front of them.

However, the biggest problem is that the multiple, short-term positions now listed on the résumé are in unrelated technology fields. With expertise that appears to be all over the map, it's increasingly difficult for him to get hired.

Especially now, as the industry is tightening up, managers are looking for candidates with more expertise in specific areas, not jacks of all trades.

This put the engineer in a twofold quandary with two burning questions: How do I get a job, or keep my current job? And how do I get my career back on track?

The biggest problem now is fear. Engineers don't want to leave their current job even if it's a dead end or not relevant to their primary skills. We see a lot of people who are staying on a sinking ship because they feel, "the devil they know is better than the devil they don't know."

Our best advice to engineers who need to steer their careers toward more reasonable shores is: