[davidjnelson]

Amen. You could also consider starting a small business if you want to stay lower key.

Corporate ladder does seem a bit... sad? But maybe some people like it! More power to them!

Cool thing about a small business is you can create a long term sustainable lifestyle that suits you. I like the philosophy of TJ Holowaychuk with Apex (created expressjs and a million other amazing things), super cool. At one point it was referred to as a “non startup”. Love that dude :-D

Nothing wrong with building a company up to an ipo either, that could be a blast depending on the people and context.

[avgDev]

One could also work for a medium sized company. Build mission critical software, then maintain it.

I know a guy that has done this for a few companies and then moved onto consulting for them. Makes SV money in the midwest. Works whenever he wants, 99% of time remotely, and companies will sometimes wait if he has too much going on to do work for them.

The guy is living the life. So, I want to do the same.