1) After many years of development the thing that grew the most is my capability to troubleshoot much more easily most issues, both physical or virtual, with greater enjoyment from such accomplishments.

2) The power to create something from nothing is a great feeling, especially if you keep on personal projects and most of your dev passion you keep it outside the working environment.

3) Career paths can easily be opened in case you live development as an infinite cycle of adaptation and improvement.