Hello from Lytje from Denmark.
I’m very late to the game. Sorry. 
I used to be a software developer, but that’s a long time ago. Now I am teaching (math and physics).
I have developed a few ESP-boards, but nothing fancy.
A friend of my told me to join “the light side” and use HA. It took me some years to actually do it. But now I am here.
I like the maximum customizability of DIY, so I’ll probably continue to do a few ESP-projects. But I must admit I am also a bit surprised (positively) by the ready-to-use products. I.e. I have around 10 Ikea light-bulbs that can change brightness as well as colortemperature. They are not very cheap, but the are not too expensive either. And they just work.
And somehow I suppose that is what Home Assistant is all about. Giving the option to ‘just buy products that work’ or DIY or much better yet, do both. Have some easy stuff and be able to do more complicated stuff if you ever want to.
