Learned to code as a child, took 10 years off in my twenties to pursue degrees in philosophy and literature, decided not to become a professor and took up makin

Learned to code as a child, took 10 years off in my twenties to pursue degrees in philosophy and literature, decided not to become a professor and took up making media in a variety of capacities, pivoted my media creation business into just making websites, enjoyed programming (and playing with new techniques) so much that at some point the only jobs I would take were freelance programming of various kinds. My first real paid "programming" gig was for a low-rent web shop that crapped out websites for insurance agents. So, maybe 25 years from day 1 to getting paid.