[RickJWagner]

I've worked for 10 years for a prominent Open Source company. Prior to that, I worked 8 years for a big data company and prior to that 12 years for a company that wrote banking software.

I can say with no reservations that Open Source is chock full of very smart people, many who love programming for the love of programming. (There are some who are in it for the money, or who go about it from a commercial angle. They can be strong contributors, too.) I'd highly recommend looking at ways to earn a living in Open Source, if passion for programming is what motivates you.

Good Luck!