Back then, the market was flooded with young folks out of bootcamps. So much so, in fact, that several companies had absolutely no problem treating me in quite shabby fashion, as I have committed the crime of Eld, along with a rather disturbing level of Provable Competence. These seem to be characteristics that immediately mark people for ridicule, humiliation, and indignity.
Fortunately, I had been quite frugal, and have enough to retire anytime I wanted. I won't be zipping around in any learjets, but I'll be OK.
I have never worked harder in my life; but I'm not making a dime. I'm working on the kind of software I find interesting, and that will actually have some real social impact, with people that treat me with basic human dignity and simple respect. It's cool. I'm also trying out and refining all kinds of ideas for high-quality, flexible software development, that no one was ever interested in exploring. They are working out fairly well. My GH Activity Graph has been solid green, for a couple of years. I like writing software (and delivering it).
I'm in no hurry to put myself in a position again, where my work can be destroyed by others; even if I do make decent money at it. I have found that the pain of having my work ruined is far greater than I had thought. It took several years of being able to do things the way that I want, to realize that[0].
This is actually what I have wanted all my life. I just didn't know it, as I had never taken the risk to give it a go.
This would not have happened, if the door had not been slammed in my face, forcing me to adapt.
I'm really quite happy to see that people younger than I am, are getting a chance to make this realization, and I wish them all the luck in the world, in following their muse. The tech industry should be engaging, fun, and a source of wonder. We have amazing tools, technology, and a maturity of community that was unavailable, when I started.
It would be great to see the tech field return to a greenfield, and a garden of pride in craftsmanship, real creativity, and joy in exploration, as opposed to the rather sordid, low-quality, mercenary mess, that it is now.