I'd guess he was charging peanuts and rather than raising his rates he figured a job paid more. Then again, I think every programmer needs to work with people

I'd guess he was charging peanuts and rather than raising his rates he figured a job paid more. Then again, I think every programmer needs to work with people better than them for a few years. Most of the worst code I've seen is from programmers who have always been one-man bands, or have been a one-man band for a very long time. It's often a case of not knowing what you don't know.