IMO you want two incompatible things - you want the security and good pay of a corporate drone while living the hotshot maverick life that gets away with being

IMO you want two incompatible things - you want the security and good pay of a corporate drone while living the hotshot maverick life that gets away with being above the things. There are few jobs that will allow you that and they require to be with the company from the start, a smaller company and quite a bit of luck to land one. So just choose one of those paths.