Work at an org where you think you could be considered at least a 4x engineer. Even better a 10x. I could be a 4x/10x/100x engineer someplace, and a 0.25x at an

Work at an org where you think you could be considered at least a 4x engineer. Even better a 10x. I could be a 4x/10x/100x engineer someplace, and a 0.25x at another. Learn to automate stuff at your job. It works at programming jobs too. Prefer the workplace is a product or SaaS/product company. My experience with it shows that it has a lower cognitive load after the initial 6 months to 1 year of hard work. Yes, you have to put in extra effort early on to reap the benefits later on. This does not mean programming more, but understanding the product in depth and in domain. On top of that prefer an established product which has sizeable management and team size. Things move slowly here. Stay away from lead/architect/management roles - it would be unethical to take up any of those. Prefer a development (programming) role. Over the years, I have realised that "time is elastic" with programming roles. Keep away from consulting companies/consultant roles. Some of those pay well, but then you are not looking to earn more. In ideal situation I would recommend leaving toxic places - but embrace and learn to manipulate workplaces that give more importance to "visibility" than "actual work". And the last piece: All of the above should be temporary for few years - it will hurt your psyche the longer you keep doing it. Explore and change your earnings to something that will work for you long term.