> Where are the docker/redis/next.js/linux kernel/qt/roller-coaster tycoon creators?
They create their own thing from scratch, and turn it into a job.
The first 5 from that list were open source creations that became big because they met a need at the time and lots of people adopted them. Which is one route into creating your own thing.
I've seen senior engineers who have leveraged lots of domain knowledge to build a prototype of something super useful internally within a company that then grows in adoption and size as people recognise it's value. Projects then start to organically cluster around the core that was built solo.
They create their own thing from scratch, and turn it into a job.
The first 5 from that list were open source creations that became big because they met a need at the time and lots of people adopted them. Which is one route into creating your own thing.
I've seen senior engineers who have leveraged lots of domain knowledge to build a prototype of something super useful internally within a company that then grows in adoption and size as people recognise it's value. Projects then start to organically cluster around the core that was built solo.