But was it really me then?

Nah, the money makes up for it. I give code, I get money. The rest is up to management.

For getting a grip in current web development, I would recommend fullstackopen.com - it’s a free online course by the University of Helsinki and starts from basically zero, and gives you a lot of insights into web dev.

It may take some time, but it’s really worth it and an overall great course.