In monetary society (US) especially. In university you are relatively free - it is completely up to you what to study. In national lab you are less free, because usuallu departments (say of high-temp plasma) do not like if somebody study completely unrelated to their "banner" subject. But you still can switch departments (if they have a position or if your results are of great interest).

Least freedom is when you work for small private company - then you HAVE to do what they tell you to do (in big companies there is a little more "air to breeze".

Or when you work on certain government project - there is not much freedom their too, because then you are given money to achieve certain goal (and in certain time) - in most cases more engineering goal than scientific.