Hey, I'm in TX, too (Fredericksburg, though I used to be in Lubbock and Amarillo)... I found that about 8mos of stupid job BS was all I cold take. I haven't ha

Hey, I'm in TX, too (Fredericksburg, though I used to be in Lubbock and Amarillo)... I found that about 8mos of stupid job BS was all I cold take. I haven't had a W2 job in 5 years, though I did spend 6mos getting screwed as a "1099" 9-5 on-site "contractor". It really isn't hard to find a normal salary level of freelance gigs if you like working with other people making software, though you do have to want to do it and you have to be both open minded and (oddly) selective about the kinds of projects you take on. Not to mention that you do have to send out a lot of feelers and try and learn how to read prospective situations. Most of what I do isn't as nice as adding features to FOSS projects, but it's fun in the same way. ... just an attempt to encourage you to freelance (even if you take a job first). To be honest, it doesn't take "social engineering"... it just takes a while to learn how to present yourself better than the alternatives and learn it as a business (it took me about 2 years). I work 3-6 billable hours a day, and spend the rest of my 8-10 hour work day (when I don't have a gig or go hiking) learning new stuff (which I find fun). Personally, I like freelance developing a lot more than "passive income" strategies... I spend a lot of time working for people trying to flesh out those strategies, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I think I have more fun, and will keep on this path until doing it when I'm 75 doesn't sound appealing.