I sometimes wonder if this isn't an insult uttered in a moment of jealousy. Like when the unachieving youngsters reasure themselves that their more successful counterparts may have better school grades or better chances of employment, but surely they have no life.
I currently work for something that may be called a "lifestyle business". I also did a lot of independent work. Got burned in a "serious business" twice, and it will be a long time before I touch one again.
The money isn't all that great, but it's not bad, either. I can literally afford pretty much anything I want, and my lifestyle isn't frugal. I can try a new, interesting wine at every dinner, if I feel fancy I can eat at a fancy restaurant and I travel a lot; not business class, but I don't really feel I need it, either, and the people I meet in a train are worth far more than a premium lunch. I have time for all my hobbies, I can go for a walk with my girlfriend any time I want, and I have a secure, healthy lifestyle. I have less money than a corporate employee, but I am a lot richer.
Quite frankly, I also found the working conditions to be a lot better. My first job in a large company was an utter failure due to the culture clash; I'd literally have nothing to do for weeks at a time while the corporate drones were stroking each other in the beginning of a project, and while many of my colleagues were at least competent programmers, most of them were utterly horrified of the idea of learning anything new (and this was actually a large, successful company, not some dotcom-boom crap). I had regular clashes with my superiors because I'd finish my tasks well before half the day was over, there was nothing else for me to do, but I couldn't go home, either (you can't log hours if you aren't there, can you?). The long decision chain, questionable technical competence in the upper layers and slow reaction, even when I only had just 2 or 3 hours of coding a day, I'd smoke through almost every task they had. Work would occasionally overcrowd before a deadline (though for some reason that only happened in the teams of some of the managers -- always the same ones), but other than that, the challenge level was so low I was eager to get the hell out of there just so that I can do my job.
I currently work for something that may be called a "lifestyle business". I also did a lot of independent work. Got burned in a "serious business" twice, and it will be a long time before I touch one again.
The money isn't all that great, but it's not bad, either. I can literally afford pretty much anything I want, and my lifestyle isn't frugal. I can try a new, interesting wine at every dinner, if I feel fancy I can eat at a fancy restaurant and I travel a lot; not business class, but I don't really feel I need it, either, and the people I meet in a train are worth far more than a premium lunch. I have time for all my hobbies, I can go for a walk with my girlfriend any time I want, and I have a secure, healthy lifestyle. I have less money than a corporate employee, but I am a lot richer.
Quite frankly, I also found the working conditions to be a lot better. My first job in a large company was an utter failure due to the culture clash; I'd literally have nothing to do for weeks at a time while the corporate drones were stroking each other in the beginning of a project, and while many of my colleagues were at least competent programmers, most of them were utterly horrified of the idea of learning anything new (and this was actually a large, successful company, not some dotcom-boom crap). I had regular clashes with my superiors because I'd finish my tasks well before half the day was over, there was nothing else for me to do, but I couldn't go home, either (you can't log hours if you aren't there, can you?). The long decision chain, questionable technical competence in the upper layers and slow reaction, even when I only had just 2 or 3 hours of coding a day, I'd smoke through almost every task they had. Work would occasionally overcrowd before a deadline (though for some reason that only happened in the teams of some of the managers -- always the same ones), but other than that, the challenge level was so low I was eager to get the hell out of there just so that I can do my job.