I started my software career in consulting, and I echo this comment 100%. It’s a great way to build your skills, but it is not a great source of stability and there can be lots of crunch time depending on where you work. They say the hottest fires forge the strongest steel :) I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities I was given as a consultant, and for the experience I gained, but long-term it’s not really the lifestyle for me.

I agree with you and this fits enough people. Many (myself included) thrive off constant action and change, steep risk and learning curves.

I started in management consulting - and even after doing startups for years - find startups too mind-numbingly boring. (But that may be me) If I'm on an internal teams - I have to work on many things at once to keep sane.

For me, management consulting (using my CompSci as a starting point) it gave me skillsets others don't replicate easily.

Agreed. Not for all, but certainly a great fit for people who love change and doing new things.

"Chaotic" is probably not an inaccurate word. It's not a career suitable for all personalities. I think it's best for someone who is hungry to learn and do something new, constantly... As there's always lots that needs to be done in the midst of "chaos", while also traveling often, like you say. That said, Red Hat has some incredible incentives (benefits like an annual 2 week company shutdown) that helps offset some of this busyness. Red Hat is also usually quite accomadating of certain life/work dynamics that are better for some, such as allowing people to work primarily remote, if it's something that an employee feels they need at a certain time in their life.