> The normal pipeline is HS-> College -> Entry level corporate job -> change jobs -> slightly better corporate job -> change job -> ... -> senior programmer in

> The normal pipeline is HS-> College -> Entry level corporate job -> change jobs -> slightly better corporate job -> change job -> ... -> senior programmer in a corporate setting....I'm at the end of this pipeline, and it pays the bills but it's not that great... This, in a nutshell is the problem with investing your youth in coding. There is more to life than optimizing your potential as a producer so you can optimize your potential as a consumer. I, too, am at the end of this pipeline. There are worse places, but explore your options first. If you want quality life advice, look elsewhere. More generally, don't look for it in any narrow community where most people are still young. Being young doesn't preclude wisdom but being young and narrowly focused doesn't improve your odds of finding it. If I were starting over I would spend more time understanding my goals and values, work harder at building deeper social bonds, and invest more in caring for my mental and physical health. I think this would have made me a better person, a better parent, and even a better employee.