Nor do they have people depending on them to put food on their table. When you have to provide, you don't have too much freedom in where you work. It's rare to move your entire family across country, for example. So maybe you're stuck in some backwater city, because your kid goes to school there and you don't want to ruin their social life by uprooting them just because you're facing some crunch time. Is it impossible for you to be a master programmer in that situation? Certainly not.

The point is, it's not a good idea to take our freedom for granted. We're kind of spoiled right now, because the job market is literally figuratively on fire. Once the job market saturates within a decade, people will hopefully realize how rare it was for us to have such freedom of choice in where we were able to choose to work.

You say you do not have freedom in where you work, and that basically is the reason it is true for you. The biggest limitations are the ones we build for ourselves.

I'd suggest instead of thinking of it like a job, think of it like it is: a business arrangement exchanging time and effort for a certain set of compensation. If you wish to avoid working with a bad arrangement on one end, find another vendor you an barter with. If you feel trapped by bills or something, that's a separate problem but still one largely set up by your mind.

Obviously lots of nuances to this exist and there are a large number of factors we don't control, but make no mistake, you do control where you work. If you want to maintain the "spoiled freedom" I would suggest you become more valuable in your trade.

When I was pivoting away from my failed academic career - and the ripples of the Dot Com bubble were still fresh in most employers' minds - I had a job interview that went more or less like this:

HR Clerk> Why should I pay you [for a full time position] more than what you are currently making [at your current, unsustainable, part time gig].

Crpatino> Because I'd rather scrub toilets and sell potatoes by the road before giving away my skills for nothing.

HR Clerk> I am sorry, I did not intend to offend you, but you must realize this is a question every employer is going to ask...

The interview went more or less uphill from there, though I did not end up getting the position. But what I want to point out is that you are not required to just take whatever X employer is offering you. You must remember that this is a game with asymmetric information. They are trained to low-ball you every time they have a chance, expecting that you will push back and negotiate. And if you do not negotiate, they just shrug their shoulders and pocket the difference.

I am aware that it is different when you already have a job. But it is not the only way to "put food on the table", no matter how much it looks like. There are other jobs, and there are other industries. And you always have the option to create a job for yourself if all else fails.

You may need to take it as it is for some limited time while you put your ducks in line, but you don't have to do that forever.