Yeah I agree, one doesn't need to maximize their income at all costs. Let me update my PR then :)

  if (can solve hard leetcode problems) {
  
    return isDesireToMakeMoreThan(500K) || !enjoy(code) ? moveToManagement(moveToFAANG) : moveToFAANG;
  } else {
   // move out of developer roles

    return moveToManagement(bestBrandedCompanyCanGetInto).asynchronous(workOnOwnCompanyInFreeTime);
  }

I love programming but I realized that I enjoy writing pure code and I am good at it. I can solve hard LeetCode problem though takes me hours or days. But I really don't want to deal with senior/staff/architect level dev responsibilities such as infrastructure, DevOps, and politics of proving yourself.

Long time ago, I did a little bit of photography as a side-hustle. It sucked the joy out of photography until I stopped doing it as a side-hustle. It has been a long time since I enjoyed programming at my 9-5.