| To maximize for money without moving into management here are the options: * Follow a trend, as in do what everyone else does. For example be great at both Java and JavaScript React. When I say great I only mean above average at programming but administratively great at agile and closing tickets. Beef up your resume with numbers and move into a role as a corporate principal. AI and cloud infrastructure are hot right so try spinning those into a primary focus. * Get a PhD and become a researcher for Google or Microsoft * Get an MBA, a PMP, and focus on the business of IT. That’s really it. If you really want to make money go into management, and you don’t need any experience as a developer to do that. Always be a salesperson. Sociopaths will get further than everyone else if they aren’t completely assholes. It’s never about technical excellence. If you waste effort on technical excellence, especially in a trendy area, you will race to the bottom arguing best practices with people probably shouldn’t be there in the first place. Software is laissez faire, so most businesses just try to retain boring people and most people aggressively pushing their careers lie about their capabilities. |