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"Graybeard generalist" makes you a good fit for a lot of startups, maybe in the 5-20 employee size range. Your brief list sounds like you'd be useful in a compa

by jpm_sd 10y ago

"Graybeard generalist" makes you a good fit for a lot of startups, maybe in the 5-20 employee size range. Your brief list sounds like you'd be useful in a company developing a web-connected hardware product of some kind... or "IoT" if you're feeling buzzword-compliant. edit: Having alternated startups with big companies for about ten years myself, I feel like a startup environment can be "stable enough" for a father of young children. But you have to be willing to grill them during your interview process about burn rate and runway. A well funded startup can even be a good way to ride out a downturn for a year or two!

davismwfl 10y ago
This is very true, startups can be a great place for people with a range of skills as long as they are deep enough in a few to really make an impact. Personally, after having been running my own companies and having been on my own for many years I recently joined a small startup. I am definitely the old guy, as I have 3 kids, 1 in college who is closer in age to my co-workers then I am. When I talked with the founders and team as a whole, everyone was totally straight forward, intelligent, honest and super concerned to make sure we all were on the same page. They gave me full confidence they were doing everything they could to do it right, and they are very transparent about what is happening and where we stand. That to me is what is important and you would almost never get that at an enterprise. I would also argue that no job is guaranteed or "stable", they are there for as long as you can keep getting stuff done and provide value. And sometimes even if you can do that the position will still go away because of factors you cannot control. So in the end, you have to keep yourself marketable and pay attention to the little things happening around you. Yes, you can hide in an enterprise and collect a decent paycheck for quite a while, but that is just existing and not living or keeping yourself marketable and you are just as likely to get cut, if not more.
jtfairbank 10y ago
Agreed! We're almost at that point (5 employees, 1 of which has a kid), and need dev help on a broad array of problems.

by jpm_sd 10y ago

davismwfl 10y ago

This is very true, startups can be a great place for people with a range of skills as long as they are deep enough in a few to really make an impact. Personally, after having been running my own companies and having been on my own for many years I recently joined a small startup. I am definitely the old guy, as I have 3 kids, 1 in college who is closer in age to my co-workers then I am. When I talked with the founders and team as a whole, everyone was totally straight forward, intelligent, honest and super concerned to make sure we all were on the same page. They gave me full confidence they were doing everything they could to do it right, and they are very transparent about what is happening and where we stand. That to me is what is important and you would almost never get that at an enterprise. I would also argue that no job is guaranteed or "stable", they are there for as long as you can keep getting stuff done and provide value. And sometimes even if you can do that the position will still go away because of factors you cannot control. So in the end, you have to keep yourself marketable and pay attention to the little things happening around you. Yes, you can hide in an enterprise and collect a decent paycheck for quite a while, but that is just existing and not living or keeping yourself marketable and you are just as likely to get cut, if not more.

jtfairbank 10y ago

Agreed! We're almost at that point (5 employees, 1 of which has a kid), and need dev help on a broad array of problems.