> I prefer spending my free time having great interactions with my friends and my girlfriend, enjoying traveling and getting new experiences and just making the most of this one life that I have.

For me, software development and picking up new technologies and abstractions IS "making the most of this one life that I have." If you truly love what you do, then there shouldn't be some dividing line between what you do for fun, and what you do for money.

You shouldn't program on your spare time in order to pick up new high-demand skills, indeed that's just a pleasant side effect. You should program because it is fucking radical.