I honestly don't recall where I read this, but one thing that really struck me is "Work 60 hours a week. 40 hours a week for your company, 20 hours a week for

I honestly don't recall where I read this, but one thing that really struck me is "Work 60 hours a week. 40 hours a week for your company, 20 hours a week for yourself" I find it true. As you say, company work don't teach much. Better said maybe, they don't teach much diverse skills. Most of your time is spent doing CRUD or API modifications. When I get out of work, I try to get projects about things I don't know anything about. Like learning web dev (or at least trying), publishing an android app, or even teaching yourself marketing. For me, the rule is usually simple : - Do something you don't know anything about. - Make it small. - Do it fast enough so that you don't get bored. - Publish it. I like it because I usually struggle a lot, and then understand the rough concepts. Adn the next project is easier, because I am used to trying to understand how stuff works. It basically keep your brains agile. And the best thing is that it makes you better at your job. Because you can then think out of the box, and offer new solutions to problems. More than if you'd spend 60 hours a week on your job only. Last thing is, those small projects, you can show them off; which makes you more seducing for other companies / people. Simply because you can talk about them, without having to know too much context :).