[AussieWog93]

>but is there any examples of HN users:

Probably plenty doing 1. I do this.

2 through 4 is basically asking to be exploited and undervalued, and very few mentally-well people could keep it up for more than a couple of years.

Plenty of us probably doing 5 in some way (I personally designed low-cost electronics lab gear, I'm sure plenty of others make cheap/free online courses and tutorials of a high standard), but it doesn't matter because employers are only looking for the credentials. I'd even go so far to state that many degrees aren't actually indicators of a particular valuable skillset, but indicators of class.

6 doesn't make sense in the broader scope. If everyone in every country did this, it would hurt the global economy more than it helps it.