4 ms·

Get out your bubble, most people cannot work remotely as programmers.

Retric 10y ago
Most 'office' jobs can be worked remotely. A lot of jobs that do require face to face interaction also involve a lot of travel and can therefore be based anywhere near an airport. Right now 20-25% of the US workforce teleworkers some of the time. And up to 50% of US jobs could be worked remotely a significant portion of the time. Further, as people move out of the most in demand city's service jobs will follow.
- branchless 10y ago
  We've been seeing this for years, yet it's not materialised. In theory yes, in practice no. I'm a dev, my company doesn't like WFH. Many don't. That is the real world. And that is dev which is perfect for WFH. Even the wording "a significant portion of the time". Gotta live near.
  - Retric 10y ago
    Having a 1.5-2h commute 5 days a week is soul crushing, having a 1.5-2h commute 2 days a week is not. There is cheap housing within 2h of most locations. My boss lived 230 miles from the office at my last job. He showed up 1-2 days a week for meetings and that's it.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  - mod 10y ago
    I'm a dev, I WFH. I live thousands of miles from the office and have never met anyone I work with, nor been to any of our offices. This is my 2nd such job. If it's something you want, I encourage you to shop around.
    - shostack 10y ago
      What would you suggest to the vast majority of people who are not developers and likely could not become one? It is great that your situation allows it...most people's do not.
      - djrogers 10y ago
        Welcome to the real world - not everyone's skill set commands the same benefits. You don't see a lot of people asking LeBron James how to make $40m/yr without any talent and physical ability, do you? If your 'situation' doesn't allow the benefits/compensation that you want, you can either change your situation or change your expectations.
        branchless 10y ago
        You must see you sound like a dad in a sitcom ? How can you think this adds anything?
      - Retric 10y ago
        Testers and cold callers are far less in demand than developers and they still WFH fairly regularly. It's not a 'privilege' so much as a way to reduce costs by having to pay for fewer desks and thus lower overhead. A huge swath of people simply don't like to do remote work for very long which has a lot more to do with current trends than you might think. Anyway, while there are basic requirements as it's hard to do construction remotely for example there are far more opportunity's than you might think for people with even just a high school diploma, they just don't necessarily pay as well.
- irishcoffee 10y ago
  > Most 'office' jobs _CAN_ be worked remotely. A lot of jobs that do require face to face interaction also involve a lot of travel and _CAN_ therefore be based anywhere near an airport. Right now 20-25% of the US workforce teleworkers some of the time. And up to 50% of US jobs _COULD_ be worked remotely a significant portion of the time. Further, as people move out of the most in demand city's service jobs will follow. Quoted with emphasis placed. Can, could, sure I agree 100%. The ability to do this lies with the consent of the employer, not the employee. A lot of people don't have the luxury of cherry-picking their income source, and are beholden to the rules of their employer. I realize that notion isn't really considered here: "we can all get jobs anywhere, we're smart devs!", but in reality is isn't true for large swaths of people.
  - Retric 10y ago
    Personally, I did it for six months, but I don't actually want to work from home. I live within five miles of my office and enjoy a clear work vs home seperation. So, I don't think this is really limited to what companies want. That said, my office has flexible hours and a liberal WFH policy which is a huge deal to me.
- st3v3r 10y ago
  "Most 'office' jobs can be worked remotely." This isn't quite right. Most 'office' jobs could be performed remotely is true. You can't say they can be worked remotely because most companies don't want to deal with remote workers.

Most 'office' jobs can be worked remotely. A lot of jobs that do require face to face interaction also involve a lot of travel and can therefore be based anywhere near an airport. Right now 20-25% of the US workforce teleworkers some of the time. And up to 50% of US jobs could be worked remotely a significant portion of the time. Further, as people move out of the most in demand city's service jobs will follow.

branchless 10y ago
We've been seeing this for years, yet it's not materialised. In theory yes, in practice no. I'm a dev, my company doesn't like WFH. Many don't. That is the real world. And that is dev which is perfect for WFH. Even the wording "a significant portion of the time". Gotta live near.
- Retric 10y ago
  Having a 1.5-2h commute 5 days a week is soul crushing, having a 1.5-2h commute 2 days a week is not. There is cheap housing within 2h of most locations. My boss lived 230 miles from the office at my last job. He showed up 1-2 days a week for meetings and that's it.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- mod 10y ago
  I'm a dev, I WFH. I live thousands of miles from the office and have never met anyone I work with, nor been to any of our offices. This is my 2nd such job. If it's something you want, I encourage you to shop around.
  - shostack 10y ago
    What would you suggest to the vast majority of people who are not developers and likely could not become one? It is great that your situation allows it...most people's do not.
    - djrogers 10y ago
      Welcome to the real world - not everyone's skill set commands the same benefits. You don't see a lot of people asking LeBron James how to make $40m/yr without any talent and physical ability, do you? If your 'situation' doesn't allow the benefits/compensation that you want, you can either change your situation or change your expectations.
      - branchless 10y ago
        You must see you sound like a dad in a sitcom ? How can you think this adds anything?
    - Retric 10y ago
      Testers and cold callers are far less in demand than developers and they still WFH fairly regularly. It's not a 'privilege' so much as a way to reduce costs by having to pay for fewer desks and thus lower overhead. A huge swath of people simply don't like to do remote work for very long which has a lot more to do with current trends than you might think. Anyway, while there are basic requirements as it's hard to do construction remotely for example there are far more opportunity's than you might think for people with even just a high school diploma, they just don't necessarily pay as well.
irishcoffee 10y ago
> Most 'office' jobs _CAN_ be worked remotely. A lot of jobs that do require face to face interaction also involve a lot of travel and _CAN_ therefore be based anywhere near an airport. Right now 20-25% of the US workforce teleworkers some of the time. And up to 50% of US jobs _COULD_ be worked remotely a significant portion of the time. Further, as people move out of the most in demand city's service jobs will follow. Quoted with emphasis placed. Can, could, sure I agree 100%. The ability to do this lies with the consent of the employer, not the employee. A lot of people don't have the luxury of cherry-picking their income source, and are beholden to the rules of their employer. I realize that notion isn't really considered here: "we can all get jobs anywhere, we're smart devs!", but in reality is isn't true for large swaths of people.
- Retric 10y ago
  Personally, I did it for six months, but I don't actually want to work from home. I live within five miles of my office and enjoy a clear work vs home seperation. So, I don't think this is really limited to what companies want. That said, my office has flexible hours and a liberal WFH policy which is a huge deal to me.
st3v3r 10y ago
"Most 'office' jobs can be worked remotely." This isn't quite right. Most 'office' jobs could be performed remotely is true. You can't say they can be worked remotely because most companies don't want to deal with remote workers.