[arwhatever]

I’ve done much the same, but I’m curious if you have any other insights to share?

I’ve mostly settled into a place with a good pay rate-to-work expectations ratio, but I’ve also contemplated optimizing for pay alone.

[trashtensor]

i wouldnt say i have any particularly groundbreaking insights. Get things done, don't be afraid to learn new things as you need to. The best people i work with at any given time are the ones who are willing to try stuff and fail (but they probably wont because it seems like half of succeeding is just trying). So many devs out there get stuck because they are comfortable in their lane and are unwilling to get adventurous.

in terms of optimizing for pay vs lifestyle, i spent some years optimizing for lifestyle but im definitely in optimize for pay mode right now. Make a bit of a bag and get out and go back to optimizing for lifestyle. Things are better that way.