I don't know how much you wrote yourself. Either way, it was a truly enjoyable read. Good job. I started to learn programming because I was confident that my skills as an architectural visualization artist were over. Now, when I started my own IT business doing automation for local firms. I actually got a client who needed some 3D rendering. Wait what?! - AI can't even do that properly?
Turns out people are still willing to pay for having something real built, not just slopped into existence. We are all adapting to agentic coding and whatnot. But your points hold very true.
If I did not understand the code. I'd be super terrified to deliver code to clients.