Definitely. Universities keep asking for money even after you've completed the transaction. We wear the shirt and tout our pride. Win the hearts and minds. Perfect marketing play.
Sports franchises are the ultimate trick, in that they are profit-oriented, yet they somehow play on our tribal nature and fool us into forgetting about the profit part.
Being a contractor can be a good play, especially if your spouse carries benefits for your family.
Being a contractor is generally considered low status and temporary, so if you can get over that, then you can thrive.
The upside to this is the understanding that it is transactional and hourly. There is no expectation that you get emotionally invested. Which can actually be a much more health arrangement.
I like to see working software alongside a PR. GitLab has the concept of a Review Environment, and it spoiled me. Ephemeral, dynamically provisioned environments that are deployed from a feature branch, are absolutely amazing productivity boosts.