You don't need to stay employed all your life. You need to not spend all the money you make. Most corporate software devs make enough that they can save a large

You don't need to stay employed all your life. You need to not spend all the money you make. Most corporate software devs make enough that they can save a large percentage of their take-home pay if they live frugally. 20 years of saving 50%+ of your take-home, and a well diversified portfolio (read: not 100% US equities), and you most likely never need to work another day in your life if you don't want to, even if you never get a stock payday.