Our government accrued tens of billions of dollars when auctioning off the analog TV spectrum. They set aside a portion of these funds to pay for the coupon program in order to ensure that no cost (or minimal cost) would be incurred for the citizenry, who OWNS the spectrum and all rights associated with it. It is not a welfare program, and no citizen should feel guilty or ashamed for making use of it, regardless of their motivation.

Age != maturity

I'm sure you had plenty of loops in your code. They were just hidden via the use built in functions. Not that that's a bad thing.... just saying. You have to understand the mechanics of the calculations to use them properly, and over-reliance on built in functions can make it too easy to talk out of your ass.

Yeah that's a poorly informed comment. C is a freeware language. And it is used in virtually every embedded system on earth... like the control system for the laser that cuts your cornea at the neighborhood lasik shop. No doubt R is staggeringly less mature than C, but the fact that it is free has no bearing on its quality.

But you have to be very good, and before you try, you have to put in enough time at a company that you become indispensable. Then you will find yourself in a position where you are likely to be able to dictate terms of your work life within reasonable boundaries. I've managed to arrange 4 day/32 hr schedules at two separate companies. Neither company was thrilled about it, and both made it clear that my advancement in the company would cease while I was not working full time. I did this for several years and it was *awesome*. Ever do your grocery shopping on a Monday afternoon? Or go for a hike in a typically mobbed location and find it completely empty on a Thursday morning? It's powerful stuff. If you can afford it, and you're comfortable with putting your career on pause, go for it! But, again, you have to be very good, and you have to be willing to walk over the issue when you bring it up to management. Good luck!