Aside from the many good points being raised here. I'd like to add 2 more: 1, in terms of making money, there is a mis-match within programmer world. You earn

Aside from the many good points being raised here. I'd like to add 2 more: 1, in terms of making money, there is a mis-match within programmer world. You earn respect from other programmers by being great programmer, not by making a lot of money. So you are in a hard-spot if you strive to be a great programmer and rich. While on the other hand, most dentists, lawyers, bankers's status within their own circles are highly related to their financial success. 2, the world of programming does have barrier of entry, not to the general run-of-the-mill programming jobs, but to programming jobs creating high values. You can come off the street and make a website, which don't make you rich, but you can't just start doing financial programming, or work for Google without some proven track record.