[xaa]

The thing that distinguishes my situation from the type of "unicorn job" you are talking about is that I have some realism, and I compromise.

Clearly it is ridiculous to expect I can do what I want 100% of the time without any of the responsibility that normally goes with being a PI. Instead, I accept a middle ground of autonomy and responsibility between postdoc/student and PI.

Your article largely seems to be about why employers won't sponsor pure unicorn jobs. Quite true. That's why I have to continually make it clear what value I provide to the bottom line. But I have still done better than the 10-30% you talk about. It's probably 50-70%.

I have found that science and life in general can be quite flexible if you know what you want and take concrete, realistic steps to make it happen.