I left about 7-8 years ago, depending on how you count. I gradually came to the realization that I'd rather be a pauper and writing software as an art/passion

I left about 7-8 years ago, depending on how you count. I gradually came to the realization that I'd rather be a pauper and writing software as an art/passion than making six figures writing whatever kind of software I got paid to write. I chose "other" in this poll.