> we see $50,000/yr swings in annual salary I heard a coworker basically boast about making $300,000 a year coding in python. Thing is afaik, he didn't have a

> we see $50,000/yr swings in annual salary I heard a coworker basically boast about making $300,000 a year coding in python. Thing is afaik, he didn't have a college degree. He knows how to code in python and was able to put in extra hours for a client who was in a hurry to get something done while working as a contractor. This IT career track is pretty amazing to me. You can get on a fast track to make a lot of money, with no college degree or having to go through an expensive (in time/money) training program. But if you didn't put in enough hours (much like having a second part or full time job) to learn new skills, you will be knocked off the fast track before you know it.