Well, mindful as ever of the sterling advice on MN, I have spent a fair bit of time today investigating alternative careers and putting out feelers in the area of management consultancy, local jobs and other things. See, I do listen to you. 
As pointed out, I do have masses of skills, seriously masses, and I am also multilingual and so on, which makes it a constant source of bafflement to me that I earn hardly more than I spend on overheads, and I often end up watching my jobs turn into little more than routine admin roles rather than what I was really trained and employed for. I watch considerably less qualified, experienced people whizz ahead and enjoy nice little working arrangements with shorter hours, more money, more interesting work and more recognition. I must be doing something wrong, surely? But what?
I made the mistake of looking for jobs at my old university as well this morning, and once again, saw less qualified and experienced people nicely ensconced in unadvertised posts I had been trying to sniff around for and network towards over the last couple of years, and I had to say to myself, in the manner of single women rejected in love, "Boff, they're just not that into you, so ditch the jealousy because they're not wurf it." A bit of me fails to believe that though, and thinks just like the horse in Orwell's 1984 that if I just work even harder, all will be well. I am probably deluded. 
But why?
I am open to new ideas. However my concern about going freelance (again) is that I will make even less than my overheads, as in the past I have not found it to be sufficiently profitable for it to wash its face in career terms. I simply am not able to find enough work to pay me more than £10k a year. How do other people do it?
I am all questions and few answers at the moment. Meanwhile, I have registered with a couple of agencies, nannyshare.co.uk and aupairworld while I think about it all.
I think I may be having a mid-life crisis of sorts.