Why should I spend my free time to be a better wageslave?
If I have projects that I like to work on for myself, then sure, I may do some coding. However, there's no chance in hell I'll give up my free time to improve my value to an employer.
Because if they lead to a higher salary and you can keep your spending habits the same, you have an option of having a stronger safety net, an option to retire at 45 instead of 65, an option to see Java the island and not only Java the programming language.
Nobody dying is proud how hard they worked and how much they increased their market value.
I'm 100% confident that this is false.
I live in a country where a strong safety net is the (current) default.
> an option to retire at 45 instead of 65
Retiring early is only a viable option if you do so in good physical and mental health. I'd rather spend my free time keeping myself in both, and retiring at 55. This is still entirely doable; even with the outrageous rent of where I currently live, I'm still able to save a third of my net wages, while not living very frugally.
Did you ever get a formal education?
For me - and many others - I think people who enjoy coding are those best suited to working in the profession. If you genuinely feel like you're being asked to do things you resent doing _all the time_, you should ask yourself whether you wouldn't be happier doing something else.