Totally hit the nail on the head. I started programming when I was about 15 or so, but I left it for a few years. Im pretty much at the spot you're in right now and I'm just more fascinated with the subject than ever before even though I've been into computers since I was a little kid. Also again totally agree with you about the "money grab", even a friend of mine who does this for a living and is quite ab it older than me says he doesn't care about work off time because when he's out of the office for the day, he's done.