The best programmers aren't motivated simply by money, because you can't get to that skill level without being highly motivated to learn things that won't neces

The best programmers aren't motivated simply by money, because you can't get to that skill level without being highly motivated to learn things that won't necessarily ever pay off. To get there you have to read very widely, and experiment, and not stick to learning only salable skills. You have to have a lot of knowledge and capabilities that aren't ever going to show up in a job description, many of which won't ever be useful. The best programmers are algorithm inventors, and cross-pollination from one field to another is what makes that possible. Nobody's going to pay you to go out and get that broad swathe of knowledge, nobody. You either have that very strong internal motivation to learn logic and mathematics related anything-at-all, or you don't.