Husband started out in a company (in his early 20s) that he worked minimum wage for (without a degree) and then he moved up and did programming for them and he's self-taught. Since he's very talented in it, the company relies on his software, and he was eventually able to do it remotely when he moved to do his homesteading. It was hard work for him since he was working around 6-7 days a week at the company and he was also very frugal.
Farming/homesteading cuts your expenses alot since you don't pay for mortgage, water, heating, etc. Water is from the drilled well, heating is with a diesel heater or wood stove, and electricity is from solar panels. There is a high startup cost though and my husband has finally paid off the tractor that he bought years ago. Homesteading might not be for everyone since you have to be a jack-of-all-trades and be able to protect yourself from animals/humans. Recently, we traded our chicken eggs with a neighbour for his garden veg, canned goods, and meat.
Since we live in Canada, it's a bit more difficult in terms of getting enough sunlight, relying on a generator, and providing housing/heat for the animals. I think it's unfortunate that the farmers in our area are getting older and their grown children have left to go to the city. And the generational wealth is lost and has to be rebuilt again, and with inflation is almost impossible.
I don't know how well we'd be able to provide for a family since we don't have kids (was briefly pregnant last month) yet but I'd imagine we'd do okay if we have a big family. Also, we don't have any debt (I didn't graduate post-secondary) and we consult each other for purchases, do the shopping together.