I have a mix of skills in system administration and development areas, but I'm more inclined to areas related to infrastructure components (servers, storage, networks, app servers, performance analysis, etc). I believe I have a good understanding of many areas that allow me to connect the dots quickly.
It seems I'm able to find the area that is likely to be the problem and then deep dive into it until I come out with a technical solution. In that regard, I'm neither satisfied with a shallow understanding of something nor the supreme authority in a single area. I don't care about team boundaries, just want to find the solution.
With 15+ years of experience, I have identified a pattern. I will join a company that has big challenges, work very hard to get everything in other and after 2-3 years I will become so bored I can't find any meaning. The challenges I like area gone, things are running smoothly, automation is doing its job, the unknowns are gone, I know the infrastructure pretty well and I've taught others how to operate it properly. Or we've reached the limits of technical solutions and now it's a people issue and I hate to be involved in that (I was a team leader in some companies, did a good job but absolutely hated it).
The problem is this constant switching of companies is really taxing on my mind. I have to convince myself I'm not at the right place anymore, then I have to convince others, find a new company, convince them I am the right choice for their problems/challenges, etc.
So I've been thinking being a consultant might be a good thing: I get a constant flow of challenges without getting bored by a single company. The biggest issue: I'm no salesman, I will often charge less than I should (hell, I'll do this for free if my bills are paid).
How do people deal with boredom in this context? Is applying at Google/Facebook/Amazon/Microsoft a solution? How to keep the challenges flowing when all you love to do is fix/explain things?
I have no idea what consulting company is a good fit, but Google around a bit.