As it relates to human nature, my non-scientific guess is that most people want to witness the president arrive, so I bet the OP took the photo when the plane was landing ;)
Keep in mind that although he did it in a single push of 8 days, he has actually been up and down the wall for a lot longer, freeing and aiding every pitch many times. I was on the Nose almost a month ago and I could see his portaledge hanging out there. His accomplishment is really amazing and the Dawn Wall is so damn blank! No idea how these people get so good!
A successful career switch depends mostly on your ability to support yourself with money throughout the process, your ability to be dedicated to your goal, and ability to do lots of hard work. There is a tremendous opportunity to make the switch to many other fields, but a switch to our field is a lot easier in regards to bureaucracy because many companies in our field tend to focus more on the value that you can provide and a lot less on your background (this also depends on physical location). I made a career switch myself about six years ago. I can hardly call it a career switch though because previously I didn't have a solid career; mostly I did odd jobs for a living.
In my experience it hasn't mattered that much where knowledge has been "downloaded" from (college, bootcamp, self-teaching, etc). What has mattered is maintaining this "downloaded" knowledge and having it always updated to keep up with current times. Also, having actual projects to show to employers has helped me tremendously (e.g. open source contributions, client projects, personal projects, etc).
I'm self-taught and work at a BIG-BRAND company now as a Front End Engineer and make a six figure salary in the SF Bay Area; no college degree whatsoever, just a high school diploma. My resume says "Education: self-taught" and I'm happy to explain what "self-taught" has meant for me in the past six years to any employer. I've been able to work with people from all kinds of backgrounds: devs from bootcamps, self-taught engineers, devs with degrees unrelated to CS, devs with BS and MS degrees in CS and other subjects, and from many more backgrounds.
I'm contacted by many other BIG-BRANDs and small companies all the time to interview with them, and before I even accept to interview, I make it clear that I don't have a CS background, and that I'm unwilling to waste each other's time white-boarding algorithms - usually they're fine with this as they can clearly see my experience and instead they focus on the value that I'm able to provide. Many times I come across companies that ass-u-me I'm incapable because I chose a different path than them, but I've learnt to ignore the ignorant, and instead I focus on improving my skills and bettering myself as a programmer and a human being.
Any path you choose will lead you to a similar result. That's the beauty and uniqueness of our industry. As a final note, don't bother with comparing your salary with other people's salaries when/if you make the switch, as it won't matter at all if your income will allow you to live a really good life.
Based on my experience at small companies and large corps, being a smooth-talking B-player gets you more money and fame than being a great "hacker". However, please, I beg you, always stay TRUE to yourself! The world doesn't need any more zombies trying to climb the corporate hell, the world doesn't need more arse-kissers, it doesn't need fake smiles and interest based "friendships", and it doesn't need more conforming sheep. Stay TRUE to yourself! Peace...
Definitely a kind gesture from this CEO considering that some people won't even leave a tip when they're served wild caught fish by a minimum wage employee at their favorite restaurant, however, this is a first-world donation. Sure, we shouldn't judge his donation on how much he sacrificed personally, but IMHO it would have more impact to human progress if he actually sold the stock to help refugees that actually are in need of housing, bread, and water.
If what I wrote above doesn't make sense to you, perhaps the following quote will resonate with you: "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little." -Franklin D. Roosevelt
Just having a LinkedIn profile won't work. You actually have to use the thing! Connect with old and current co-workers and congratulate them on their new gigs, follow interesting companies, join LinkedIn and other online groups, write articles about your expertise so people will notice you, contribute to open-source projects, and build a killer portfolio. Those are some of the things I try to do, which seem to work - and I don't even have a proper high-school diploma (barely passed my GED).