I'm not even close to FI at this point but I do have, even conservatively estimating, well over a year living expenses in cash right now.
In an engineering position with somewhat more vaguely defined responsibilities, I have found this to give me a lot of freedom to be very honest and clear about what my interests and career aspirations are and not care how that affects me from a career perspective. Interestingly, the net effect is probably positive on my career anyways because I am more likely to take risks or focus on things I view as important, both personally and professionally.
Do others find this? I see a lot of people who seem to really dislike their job and see FI as a means to quit it. I seem to be finding pursuing FI to actually significantly increase my overall enjoyment of my job.