54k is really good "TO START"! i mean sure you have to be qualified, but at first it is still alot of process learning for sure. while i know people who have for example moved to another town for 3 months to binge code for 70k (dude stayed at the "Y" and everything) and another who makes well over 150k a year (nuclear industry) they both fill very specialized positions. honestly.. and im sure @angrybunnie isnt going to like this.. but they are sitting on their duffs all day pushing buttons. not saving lives, not stopping crime, not swinging a pick or shovel, not building sky scrapers.. they are risking NOTHING, sitting in a climate controlled room tapping their fingers all day. im sorry, but they DO make bank compared to a teacher, police officer, fireman, laborer, or emt/paramedic for a VERY comfortable job. the LEAST they could do is perform their jobs competently! after all theres people who make ALOT less with ALOT more on the line.