Ask HN: Why can't I make as much as I make?
Actually, it's pretty simple: supply and demand.<p>In the B2B world, there is a stunning demand for good software everywhere I go.  Two and three year project queues are the norm.  They have trouble finding <i>anyone</i> to get the work done, whether it's employees, contractors, or vendors, either for services or products.<p>Perfect example right now: I know of two large companies whose customers are demanding that they be able to enter their orders on the internet.  Imagine, in 2011, large companies struggling to find people to get e-commerce working!<p>OTOH, I read about what other programmers are doing here on hn, and 90% of the time, my first thought is, "Why?  Who would pay for that?"<p>To make it on your own, you have to stop building what you think people will pay for and start building what they actually will pay for.  Huge difference.<p>Aside: I remember talking about something very simliar a few weeks ago here:<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2363723" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2363723</a>