I've been a web dev since 2002, and started contracting in 2013. I've been making games as a hobby in earnest from about 2016 onwards.

Tried a bunch of tech to see what stuck: phaserjs, haXe (fun!), Lua stuff like löve2d, unity (also with clojure). I settled on unity initially, but got burned (deprecation, docs/support, etc), and finally settled on Godot (I've got python skill, so gdscript felt natural).

With contracting, I make slightly more money than permies, so I can afford to spend a day a week on gamedev. With a view to phase in more gamedev days as I get more successful.

I just recently completed a masters in indie gamedev to fast track some of the skill requirements.

I'm happy with the approach I took to get where I am. It's low stress, I still make money, and I still have bags of fun. And the masters saved me some mistakes in the long run.