This is why I have to wonder how old the parent is. When you're young and have lots to learn, sure, take on a lot and learn. But as I've become older I've dec

This is why I have to wonder how old the parent is. When you're young and have lots to learn, sure, take on a lot and learn. But as I've become older I've decided I'm not interested in putting in the extra time just to make my boss wealthier. Time is my greatest asset and I need to manage it with predictability. Time I spend making somebody else wealthier when I could be spending that time making my own business profitable is time wasted. I'm the one spending my time learning and building the application - that is to say, I'm taking the risk - so I should get the reward. Performance reviews and bonuses are far too politically fragile and opaque for me, and the fact is unless you're a shareholder, you're guaranteed to never receive more than a small fraction of the true value of your work when you're working for someone else. That's why I quit permanent work and have moved into contracting: I earn good money that I'm saving towards my own startup, I get paid for every hour I work, and as a matter of personal discipline if I'm not doing paid work I spend the free hours working on my own projects that - in the long run - should pay off far better than the contracting or permanent work ever will. That being said, this strategy only makes sense if you believe you can generate substantially more money working for yourself than somebody else could pay you. If you don't believe in yourself you're stuffed.