[sshumaker]

Is the 40 year old comfortable taking the same salary as an early/mid career dev? Therein lies the rub.

[indemnity]

Yep, that’s it entirely. In your 20s it’s super easy to take a lot of risks, what do you have to lose?

When I was 20 I decided over coffee to move to the other side of the world. Had some savings, not a lot but just did it.

Now, at 37, there’s a mortgage to pay and a family to support.

I don’t have the runway to do two or three years of low pay again to switch to another field.

I am aggressive paying that down though, so that I have this option in my 40s.