I printed some stuff that I thought was cool and just put it up on Etsy early this year at a price that would be worthwhile for me. I was shocked when the first order came in as I never thought anyone would buy it. Then the orders kept coming in and I’ve grossed about 6k so far on Etsy. It’s nice that all of my hobby equipment and filaments are paid for and that’s all I’m looking for.

I continue to randomly list stuff that I think is cool. Sometimes they sell and sometimes they don’t and that’s fine. I don’t do SEO or research keywords or advertise. If I get bored of selling prints one day then I’ll just stop.

And printing is the least time consuming part of the process. It’s the packing and taking it to the post office that takes up the most time.

I absolutely remember coworkers that worked late and went above and beyond. The difference though is that some of them worked late because they were much slower than their peers while others worked late because they always willing to help during a crisis.

I didn’t have control over comp back then, but as soon as I landed a lucrative project and needed a few software engineers, the ones that went above and beyond were the first ones I called. I was able to 3x their previous salaries. The 3rd guy I managed to get 1.5x.

They are providing for their families very well now with house and car purchases. YMMV.

Nothing wrong with coasting if you are comfortable. For others working hard is a habit or necessity.