> Passionless devs exist in droves, but I've never met a dev who didn't enjoy the salary.

You haven't worked outside specific areas of the states, eh? Pay here in Canada is nothing extraordinary.

Dev pay in Canada isn't extraordinary in comparison to US salaries, but the average salary of an associate dev is in the top 25th percentile for all age groups, and the low end of the scale is above the 50th percentile for all age groups. Note that this does not include people with senior in their title.

I would say that any career that essentially guarantees above average pay compared to your age cohort for your entire career without the need for a degree is a rather extraordinary industry.

If you can comfortably afford a place to live, some fun event a few times a month, and to eat out more than once a week, that’s pretty extraordinary.

I live and work in Louisiana, my pay is well below even the average entry level software engineer's.

I once had a job in Louisiana where they gave me a $12 hourly raise because the guy they were hiring to be my subordinate was going to be making $7 more than I was currently earning.