I am autodidactic. So were Frederick Douglass, Grace Hopper, and Leonardo da Vinci. Consider Nikola Tesla, Abraham Lincoln, or Steve Jobs and realize they were also autodidactic. Though cherry-picked from a very long list, I doubt I'll ever be that great. I'm at peace with this reality.I'm not against organized learning, but at times for me, it is slow, inconsistent, and unable to meet my needs. I dropped out of college and chose to make money rather than pursuing a formalized education. Degree programs at that time only offered programming languages in FORTRAN and COBOL. Meanwhile, I was writing and selling programs in C++ and an early Python. While Windows 3.1 was the academic darling, I was elbow deep into Linux and BSD.A virulent childhood environment promoted Imposterism, with the fallout of test anxiety. On paper, I am merely a 2.0 student, at best. Which isn't by itself bad, it's just that this is not me. It's not surprising is that if I were to prove myself today with an accredited degree, it would offer an extremely poor ROI. Still, I am at peace with the reality of this.Despite this, I move forward successfully and make the monies. I have proven to do well on my own or being a team wildcard or a tech mercenary. Unfortunately, my strong work ethic provides no work/life balance. Travel, a title, big money, or martyrdom mean nothing to me compared to my wife. I can and do make the hard calls. I've made many people sufficient money to satisfy them. Yet, I work for the satisfaction of a job well done, rather than accolades or adoration. I will eventually "settle down" and acquire something with set work hours with people capable of recognizing and capitalizing on my abilities. No matter what happens, I will still be me.