elements of a good tech contexx

* paid work. The income will sustain your effort. Unpaid work won't last beyond a few weeks (a few hours/week) of aggregate "investment"
* professional project, not personal/home/school projects
* paid users, the more the better
* important to the users. The higher the financial value the better
* mainstream technology, in-demand technology
* encounter real problems -- should be common (but not easy) problems
* Colleagues (teachers would be too ideal) to help out and give pointers