I was working for a company that has every second Friday off, which was pretty good. However the work wasn't. So I started looking around, but was not finding any work I was interested in doing. Eventually an old client called (I'm a contract software dev) and asked if I'd be interested in coming back. I wasn't really excited about going back there, but I knew it would be better than where I currently was. So I figured I'd just throw out a question:
"Can I work 3 days a week?"
They accepted a week later, and I spent the entire summer working 3 days at this company, while spending more time with my wife and newborn son.
Sometime in September/October, I received another email from another old client who was desperate for developers. I told him that I could only spare 2 days a week, not expecting him to accept this. Only he did. Shit, now I have to work 5 days again! But this job is only a 15min commute, and I can work from home 1 of these days.
I guess the point of this story is that sometimes you will get what you ask for, especially if you have a good reputation. All you have to do is... ask for it.
I started at around 23, when I took a 2 year programming diploma course at a local school. I'd bounced around university/college for a few years without knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I liked computers, and figured I'd give it a shot. It's been a good career ever since I graduated, and I'm still liking the challenge.