Money Really Does Matter – I’m an Admitted Code Mercenary

Without giving away too much info: I work in the upper midwest as a software dev. 3-4 years ago, I was working at a good company, but was underpaid with good benefits: $70-$75k a year (with about 6 years of experience), depending on bonus. Not where I wanted to be, and not enough to get my family into the city/schools I wanted them to be in.

So I looked around, adjusted my skillset, invested time into knowledge building, took a job as a contractor at a company where I would get better pay (without benefits) and a place to really work on my skills. I parlayed that into my current job, a fully time employee with really good benefits and (for my area) top pay, about double what I was making before.

It's doable, but it won't happen overnight. Work out a plan, adjust and improve your skills, and in a couple of years you can greatly improve your income/position. The people who you see doing this aren't special, they're just working on the things that need to be worked on.

Even if you genuinely don't care about money, recognize that when you work value is created, and that value, that wealth, has to go somewhere.

You could seize as much as you can get, then if you don't need it donate it to the local animal shelter, or you could leave it on the table for your manager to spend on his Rolex collection. Up to you. But think of the kittens.