I don't think that's true. I'm fairly sure Rails developers can make more money than commoditized Java programmers. I'm a consultant so maybe it's not apples-to

I don't think that's true. I'm fairly sure Rails developers can make more money than commoditized Java programmers. I'm a consultant so maybe it's not apples-to-apples, but my rate is higher than "software engineer (Java)" at one of those Fortune 500s. The key to a decent job is not working at a place where IT is a cost center. I will be the first to complain that there aren't many startups in the Twin Cities, but there are quite a few software companies and development shops. You can find cool jobs doing Java (or whatever you want to do) that pay roughly the same (or more) than the big companies that don't value software development. Anyway, my point is: if your job sucks, try a new one! You'll probably get a raise for switching, and if you assess the new company well in the interview, I doubt it will be _worse_ than your old job.