[GTP]

Programming doesn't exist in a vacuum. Or better, there are some projects that only require programming skills, but many other require also skills in different areas. E.g. to write an automatic controller you need to know control theory and systems theory, to write a videogame's physics engine you need to know physics and so on. If one is an excellent programmer, but doesn't have at least some knowledge of the field where he's going to apply programming to, he's not going far. Conversely, a person that has a firm understanding of at least the basics of that field can do meaningful work without being a programming super star. So I would say, try to find some more specific field to apply programming to. Don't be a generic programmer but someone that is good at programming something specific.