[keefe]

Progress can only be measured in reference to a destination, which you don't discuss here. Is your goal to revolutionize some part of CS or some part of society or just to make enough to not have to work?

As an aside, I followed the opposite path - math and CS in undergrad and grad, jobs to explore the parts of CS I missed and now I am into practical software development. I'm not particularly interested in methodologies etc. but I find myself here for practical reasons.

[zjj]

I always wanted to be a revolutionary in tech / science (but I don't little formal studies that allow me to do that from academia, I'm rather self taught), not to be rich. I think with time and focus I could have become rich by keeping my work on the old startup I left. But I felt that I was not being true to myself by doing that, and I was not liking it enough to keep pushing it further.

Thank you for your reply.

[keefe]

Sorry if this duplicates, my machine glitched. I just wanted to comment that unless you are independently wealthy, money has to be a big concern - which means either doing something commercial or getting into academics. I would love to have a business in ANY field that would provide enough residual income to allow me time to pursue my own ideas long term.

[zjj]

I agree. I have a work that pays me well now (it was hard to do the transition between what paid me well and what I liked but didn't pay because I didn't know about... I'm now at some point in-between). I'm not starving, but I have to work full time. But I'm keeping away from business stuff, at least for a while, to learn more of the things I find worth learning.