My company recently went through layoffs and it seems that the only people who got canned were the ones who have been there for 15+ years. These layoffs didnt seem to be performance based. They seemed to be "size of pay check" based ( people who have been there longer obviously make more money that the newer people). I don't want to be the "guy who got laid off" in 10 years time ( I've been there for 6 yrs). I want to make enough money to be able to decide whether or not I have to work, and not be forced to be "code monkey" for a large company, that won't even bat an eyelid when its time for them to show me the door.