Simple. Don't work as an employee. This is the one industry where it really isn't that difficult. I took the leap 5 years ago and within 3 years quadrupled my income and have complete autonomy and freedom.
I'm not a software dev or tech worker. But I hope you guys do this.
I may have just drunk too much HN kool-aid, but software devs seem to be criminally under-valued and often exploited (see Crytek thread on front page, for example). Then there's guys like Bezos who, after underpaying and exploiting you, will replace you with a machine-learning algo the second it is technically feasible and a net positive to the company bottom line.
I've also noticed some interesting features of the software development labour market: quite a lot of the work is creative in nature, you produce non-rivalrous products (i.e. my consumption of 'software x' does not block someone else's consumption), and the workforce is supposedly peppered with unusually talented individuals who produce 50-100x the value that the average worker does.
There are two other industries that have similar features: traditional screen entertainment (TV & Movie), and professional sports leagues. In both of these industries, the content producing workers (baseball players, actors) are invariably a member of an industry guild or union, and operate more like independent contractors than employees...
I did this as well. Best thing I ever did. However I find that when Isuggest this, people have all the reasons in the world not to. More $€ for us then.
