When I first started programming in 1956 (56 years ago) I was in a very select, highly prestegious group. People respected me like I was a rocket or nuclear scientist. Now, however, there are millions of software developers and it does not mean as much. If you have a government security clearance and have talent, then this field pays very well. If you do not have a security clearance, then you are competing with people in India, who are probably as smart or smarter than you and will work for a lot less money, so you will find it hard to get a good paying job. Besides the clearance, the other key to success is to know more about some small subset of computing than everyone else (or at least most everyone else). That way you talent will be in demand. You also want to get as many certifications as possible - they seem to be worth more than a BS degree.