My answer is usually to those who are thinking of getting into the field,not just write some 'hello world' apps. I don't demotivate, I do give a fairly realistic picture: it does require a lot commitment and lots of hair pulling moments to get somewhere. The problem is that those who really want to do it,they never ask, they just dive into it. The ones who ask, are usually who will never do it or have an unrealistically simplistic picture of what it entails. I used to offer this route to non technical colleagues,who,if wanted, could have doubled or tripled their salaries in just a few years. I was offering all the support they'd need,should they decide to do it, including the company changing their roles if they see the motivation. Nobody ever took it. Not a single person.