Thanks for writing this, Tom. Coding as an employee isn't right for me, either. By and large, programmers generally make great employees. Many brilliant people

Thanks for writing this, Tom. Coding as an employee isn't right for me, either. By and large, programmers generally make great employees. Many brilliant people are able to knock out their assigned and existential objectives by solving complex problems and are handsomely rewarded with hefty checks. But, if you ask them questions outside their comfort zone about, for example, running a business, designing for the user, or marketing, most would be quick to point out that those aren't responsibilities that fall on their plate. To me, it sounds like you have a fervor for being more than just an employee. You want to take ownership of your work. You want to use your brain for your own benefit, not for some other corporation to rent out. You want the grittiness of taking on multiple roles and welcome being side by side with your users. There are many of us out here, coding as self-starters, founders, freelancers, remote workers, and small business owners. It isn't for everyone, and if you are happy or content with your full time job, then it's probably not for you. That's ok. But for those of us who have found ways to make it work outside of what can feel like the soul-crushing environment of a typical full-time workplace, the devs building on their own, grinding out client work, doing remote year, making products - ask any of them, and you'll find that coding as a employee wasn't right for them, either. I'd encourage you to read my post on the way I fell into this line of thought, but for me, I was coming from a job that I actually really liked: http://davekiss.com/getting-started-with-passive-income/ http://davekiss.com/getting-started-with-passive-income/ You don't need to code as an employee to code as a career. Be honest with yourself; are you an employee, or a founder?