Not so interesting really, just that funding is structured in such a way that there are ways to get funded to convert research prototypes into production-qualit

Not so interesting really, just that funding is structured in such a way that there are ways to get funded to convert research prototypes into production-quality software, and as long as you have researchers willing to include it in their proposals, domain knowledge to have credibility and hold your ground in your consortium, and a network within which you're known for this; then you can make a living as an independent researcher/software consultant. I'll add to this that I stumbled into some peculiar, non-replicable circumstances which let me bypass the 'only eat ramen for several years' phase that is the rite of passage in the academic world. The opportunity cost of that would have made it non-rational for me to do this. So I don't have actionable career advice on this line of work, I'm afraid.