Comment by wanderinghacker

This is excellent advice, thank you. I think that after rising through the ranks quickly, I'm worried that my advancement (and earnings) are now capped for a while. Meanwhile I see less skilled developers fresh out of school making near what I make, getting signing bonuses, etc. and no doubt on their way to better pay at more interesting jobs. So there is an element of envy. Often it feels like I'm on the outside looking in on the tech industry because of all of the opportunities that seem unattainable (described here in another comment).