It doesn't pay as well as working for FAANG, and I'm not going to get stock options that will make me rich. I live in a medium cost of living area. I make enough so that I can own a house, 2 cars (both paid off), and have a nice retirement account.
For the most part it is pretty low key. If the build breaks close to a deadline, there is some pressure to get it fixed, but that doesn't happen often. Most of the time it is just working on my projects that have realistic deadlines.
Every once in a while I get a little bored, but then I remember those past jobs where everyone's hair is on fire. The thing I like is that I get to work at my own pace, and spend most of the day writing scripts. I enjoy writing scripts more than I do application programming. I consider my scripts to be my minions that I send off to do my bidding.