> Joel implied that good programmers love programming so much they'd do it for no pay at all. I won't go quite that far, but I will note that the best programmers I've known have all had a lifelong passion for what they do. There's no way a minor economic blip would ever convince them they should do anything else. No way. No how.
This isn't just a minor economic blip, but I took a non-programming (but still technical) job out of college, because it was what I could get. I now have a few kids and pretty firm roots in a town without a lot of programming jobs. I make a six figure salary, I'm reasonably good at what I do and I like my coworkers, so I feel weird complaining about my job, as I'm better off than most people I know...
However, I really want to write software. I contribute to open source projects, and when there is something I can automate at work, I do it. I'm also somewhat concerned that if programming were to become my day job, I would lose interest in it. Has anyone else made the transition from hobbyist to professional, and have any advice to give?