I guess it depends who you work for. I prefer to work at small new companies until they get off the ground. Then I shift to the next small new company. Small meaning < 30 employees for the whole organization. Pay isn't as great, and the work is definitely more under pressure, but I find that the only thing expected of me is quality work. I don't have to worry about trying to climb ladders or schmoozing management. I understand that not everyone has the skill set to do what I do, but I think that if you're tired of Mega Corp social engineering, taking the pay cut for more personally rewarding work is a great path to go down. After all, quality of life has very little to do with what you have beyond a certain threshold and more to do with what you make of it. I get paid less than other developers in my area, but I work entirely from home and I choose the technologies, architecture, language, etc.