I don't think I would like working in a corporate environment
I've been working on The WilderNet for a little over 3 years now. It is a bootstrapped endeavor that I began pursuing after grad school. The job market was tough and I decided my time was better spent building something rather than sending thousands of job applications into the HR void.
Because of this, I am a bit biased towards working on my own projects, instead of trying to work in the corporate world or remaining in academia. I like how I get to make my own decisions, and quickly figure out if they worked or if they failed. I like that I have a hand in every part of the process, so while I am not an expert in everything, I know how most things work at a higher level. I think that an environment where you try lots of things and come up with lots of new ideas is much better for learning than more structured, controlled environments.
But the coolest thing is being able to work on a project from the beginning to the point that it is a functioning product that people can use. (Whether or not The WilderNet ever becomes successful is another question entirely, lol).
I realize that this is not a thing for everyone, but for those of you that are oriented towards solo projects, enjoy grinding away at problems, and have the time/funds to do so, I highly recommend it. Yes, there is a high risk of failure, but it is a lot more fun to work on something you feel strongly about and fail at it than to work on something you find boring, or stupid, or actively harmful and be successful. Being free is better than having golden handcuffs.