People like to think programming is a purely luxury job, and in some ways it is, but not compared to something where you often have more agency in the direction of a product. Programmers at lower levels probably take more bullshit and have less influence than anything with a title that conveys a higher level of abstract problem solving.
Being a freelance website designer likely pays less but is more rewarding as a practice than being a random cog
Being a freelance website designer likely pays less but is more rewarding as a practice than being a random cog