[avgDev]

I guess I can chime in here.

I met my current boss in school. We did a project together. I later learned he was a VP of a midsize company. I asked if he needed an intern to build some stuff, he agreed.

I have been building stuff for them for 5 years now as a full stack individual contributor. I am well compensated. I work whenever I want, some times more some times less. I definitely have to focus on keeping my skills sharp, and go out of my way to learn new things.

I have plenty of other offers but none compelling enough for me to leave this setup.

How can you get in a position like this? Network. You need to meet people who hold high positions, show them what you can do and build trust.

You could also look at things that may affect YOU. A lot of non-tech things could use a dev. You could develop something and offer it cheaply to first few individual/companies and test it out.