My first VB app was a lottery numbers generator. That immediately got me interested in writing software, and I've been writing code professionally for the past 20 years. A small start is more than enough to spark a life long career.

That's what I and most of us did, I guess.

But isn't the professional stuff totally different from that initial first glimpse?

Come on, giving educational tours to children isn't anywhere near as rigorous as being a software developer. What point are you trying to make?

It's not a matter of rigor, but rather a matter of doing it for fun on your spare time vs doing it 40 hours a week.

It might very well kill the fun out of it.

Disclaimer: I've never done educational park activities.

My reading was that if there's any regret about choosing professional SE, one should be careful not to think something else would be better for a reason similar to that the choosing SE.

I'm not a software engineer. I also didn't say I regret it, I do plan on retiring to something where I can work outside.