FU money is often defined as having enough money to not have to deal with crap. But I think most software developers really have that kind of freedom. They might not have the money to never work again, but many can just quit jobs they don't like and eventually end up at one they do.

As someone who was a founder/manager, it's often the managers who have to appease devs. We've seen people who just... don't work and they still don't get fired. Because there's too much work to do and finding a replacement might take 6 months.

If your goal is freedom, then starting a business ain't it. You no longer have to worry about your rent. Instead, you worry about salaries, office rents, unit economics. You stop sucking up to your boss, and start sucking up to investors and customers. Most startups have a runway of several months, at which you get fired by the market, and have to fire everyone in the office. In the early stages, you also can't afford anyone decent, so you're still doing everything yourself or dealing with the cheap side of the market. If you're burnt out as a salaried employee, you take breaks, unpaid or paid. As a founder, all breaks are unpaid and they always lead to more undealt problems when you come back.

But starting a business and getting rich within 10 years is practical and repeatable. Just follow the playbook: https://playbook.samaltman.com/