Kapitan founder here! Please reach out on the kapitan channel of the kubernetes slack, or connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alledm
I have been working on a couple of video tutorials that could be helpful to get started
I personally think that if you could change your perspective on things it would benefit you greatly, let me see if I can help you with that :)
Your biggest asset is the passion you put in your job, and you should do everything you can to reward it. Don't use money to value how good you are doing, but use the "Am I happy with what I do? Am I satisfied of my job"?
I am saying this because being unhappy with that you do is probably the reason that is is holding you back.
Personally, while I have enjoyed salaries like the one you mention, I have never let me stop me from leaving a company with a toxic culture OR because I was simply not satisfied with what I was doing.
I have subject myself and my family to a > 50% reduction on income (!) just to find myself satisfied again with my job.
If you can remove yourself from the money equation, you will find much more satisfaction in what you do.
I always say that people in our situation owe to themselves to maximise their happiness at work simply because we CAN. You can choose to join a more exciting startup. You can choose to explore a new career path.
Don't let money be what you use to define your success.
https://kapitan.dev/ is the one-stop shop that covers for true declarative configuration with either jsonnet, python (kadet) and jinja, amazing secret management with support of gkms, awskms, gpg, vault.
It is simpler than other tools, because you can get started without even touching jsonnet or python or anything else, when using our generators.
It does more than all the other tools combined, as it replaces helm+helmfile+gitcrypt or kustomize.
It's universal, so you can use it on non-kubernetes situations where other tools leave you high and dry.
Happy to help if you need anything
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alledm