For the sake of stability and sanity examine the institutions of your career. If professionalism is absent then quickly run away because the job will consume yo

For the sake of stability and sanity examine the institutions of your career. If professionalism is absent then quickly run away because the job will consume you while your peers, and possibly you, focus almost exclusively on self-serving qualities not related to product quality. The result is toxic and those that cannot see the toxicity lack the maturity for anything better. For an excellent definition of profession see the Army’s definition: https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN18529-ADP_6-22-000-WEB-1.pdf https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN18529-ADP_6-... What you can do is be proactive and prepared. Here are some suggestions: 1. Have a back up career that can become your full time career. I once knew a developer that dreamed of being in the games industry and spent his time working on animation and 3D modeling. He now does that full time. In my case I am in the Army Reserves and at my next promotion I could choose to do that full time and still make as much as a senior software engineer. 2. Expand your education. Get a masters degree. Focus on how to write and perform research in addition to advanced programming. 3. Get professional licenses and certifications. These will not make you a better developer but they will demonstrate you can do things other developers cannot. 4. Contribute to professional publications or professional organizations. These also double as the best means of achieving new employment via offline social networking.