UK-based full-time employed tech writer here. Been shaping my experience towards that magic 50% programming (Java, JavaScript, Python) and 50% writing. Current gig pays well but doesn't offer the amount of programming I would like. I've been a freelancer (10 years) before, and it's a little feast-or-famine, but averages out at least equivalently to being employed, with the added bonus that you usually get decent, long breaks between contracts. Various UK government-based initiatives (e.g. IR35, recent dividend legislation) have slightly taken the lustre off the freelancing lifestyle, but not so much that I wouldn't reconsider it for the right kind of work.

I've been seriously considering some outreach to young startups who wouldn't need a full-time writer. Great docs really help to distinguish great software - would Django have become so mainstream if its docs weren't so good?

Edit: typo