As stated in the post it's also difficult to figure out where to go from that situation. Once you're at a point where you're making good money, maybe have the house/wife/kids/dog, how do you go back to that square one? Assuming you can even find a place that values the craftsmanship mentality that is willing to take you on as an apprentice / journeyman it seems unreasonable to expect them to pay you at the same rate you are making at a company that already considers you an expert.

So maybe the only way once you're in that situation is to hang onto your day job and be the informal apprentice to those you respect. That's certainly the approach I've been attempting, but that itself can be difficult given a full time employment + family commitments. Craftsmanship takes lots of blood, sweat, and tears, which is something I'm certainly not against. Just wish I could get a little more of it done during my daytime hours!

I think we as a profession really need to take a hard look at how our educational system is failing us in this regard… Maybe rather than classroom environments, a large part of formal education for software engineers should be apprenticeship. Best thing I did for myself in college was doing 1+ years of internship. Formalizing that process would take a large scale collaboration between craftsman shops and universities the likes of which I don't see happening anytime soon.

@Mat S: I'd love to see job descriptions say things more like “professional craftsman” rather than “expert.” And I'm definitely thinking of a post addressing the solo or masterless craftsman out there and how we can “apprentice” even within our current culture without going back to step one (highschool/college grad apprenticeship).