Work on an Open Source Project (Score 5, Insightful)

I've worked for quite a few different companies as well, and found much the same problems. The really competent managers (from a business point of view) make life dull (take no risks), and the ones that let you try interesting stuff can drive the business bankrupt.

That seems to be why many professional programmers work on open source projects. You get to spread your technical wings without managers.