Another big variable in all of this is just the natural variability of time. There are times when I have side projects that I'm totally engaged with and passio

Another big variable in all of this is just the natural variability of time. There are times when I have side projects that I'm totally engaged with and passionate about, and times where the same projects don't hold my interest as much as other things in my life, and times when I just don't have any side projects at all. Just because you're not developing on the side now doesn't mean that you never do or never would. Also, I find that it's hard to serve two masters. When I do have a side project I'm engaged in, it tends to bleed off any enthusiasm I have for doing paid work where, by definition, I have only so much say in things. It could be that the developers not developing at home are the better ones for being smart enough to save themselves for the big game, as it where. As developers, we also have to be careful about having too much of this attitude in ourselves, because it makes us, in many ways, rife for exploitation by people who expect us to be so passionate about our jobs we'd do them 12 hours a day if we could.