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This is a real concern for me. I got contacted for a position that sounds really good, but would require me to relocate to another country. They give the optio

This is a real concern for me. I got contacted for a position that sounds really good, but would require me to relocate to another country. They give the option to work mostly remote with some travel, but I'm concerned that remote work may impact my career, future promotions, etc. Anyone got any experience with this?

dudul 9y ago
You should find out if you will be the only remote employee, or one of a handful. In my experience, it is very difficult to be the special remote snowflake if telecommuting is not fully embraced by the company.
maxxxxx 9y ago
From my experience remote work will most likely impact your career if the rest of the company isn't remote. You will often be the odd man out. Best is to work for a company that's mainly remote.
itake 9y ago
been remote for about 2 years. career impacts have been: - no raises. When I left SF, they didn't adjust my comp. Because I pay no state and very low federal taxes (FEIE) adding (~$30k after tax) into my pocket at no cost to my employer and because my cost of living is lower, no raises. - promotions within this company I think will be limited for me. - if your comp isn't adjusted to your city, then it can be more difficult to find another remote position where you live. Companies tend to price you at the city you live in, not the value you provide. benefits: - co-working spaces mean I can network with other people at other companies. - no commute means more time to work on side projects or personal goals. - less "water cooler" distractions. I can turn off Slack and just focus on coding. makes it easier to get things done.
- dozzie 9y ago
  > Companies tend to price you at the city you live in, not the value you provide. People tend to price a glass of water at how expensive drinks around the place are, not the value this glass provides (crucial for life). Do you find this irrational or otherwise wrong?
  - Will_Parker 9y ago
    It would be irrational to pay more for water from France vs water from the tap, if they're the exact same product.
    - dozzie 9y ago
      ...unless you can't get water from tap and the only thing that seems to fit your criteria at this moment is the water from France, and thus you need to convince the water from France to get to you instead of some local buyer.
  - pound 9y ago
    or you may think of it as pricing the value you provide at how expensive that value around the place companies are in
    - dozzie 9y ago
      It's silly to expect a company to voluntarily pay more when it knows it can pay less for the same service.
  - jpitz 9y ago
    It certainly places a bizarre incentive on getting a PO box in SF/NYC/DC, where doing so would not make me anymore productive or valuable.
  - sidlls 9y ago
    Do you suppose there are differences between "glass of water" and "human being with skill between marginally and significantly better than average"? But I agree with you if you are pointing out that it's terrible that developers who aren't in the valley (or similar regions) don't demand higher wages, allowing employers to get away with paying based on location instead of value.
    - itake 9y ago
      same. I totally understand if a company just doesn't have the budget for an SF engineer, then they shouldn't hire from there. But if they do have the budget and they still want to price you to your city, then boo on them.
derekp7 9y ago
It depends on if your function is unique to the company. For example if you are the only developer for a particular organizational unit, then everyone has no choice but to interact with you. In that case you end up treated more like a service provider or remote outsourced resource.

dudul 9y ago

You should find out if you will be the only remote employee, or one of a handful. In my experience, it is very difficult to be the special remote snowflake if telecommuting is not fully embraced by the company.

maxxxxx 9y ago

From my experience remote work will most likely impact your career if the rest of the company isn't remote. You will often be the odd man out. Best is to work for a company that's mainly remote.

itake 9y ago

been remote for about 2 years. career impacts have been: - no raises. When I left SF, they didn't adjust my comp. Because I pay no state and very low federal taxes (FEIE) adding (~$30k after tax) into my pocket at no cost to my employer and because my cost of living is lower, no raises. - promotions within this company I think will be limited for me. - if your comp isn't adjusted to your city, then it can be more difficult to find another remote position where you live. Companies tend to price you at the city you live in, not the value you provide. benefits: - co-working spaces mean I can network with other people at other companies. - no commute means more time to work on side projects or personal goals. - less "water cooler" distractions. I can turn off Slack and just focus on coding. makes it easier to get things done.

dozzie 9y ago
> Companies tend to price you at the city you live in, not the value you provide. People tend to price a glass of water at how expensive drinks around the place are, not the value this glass provides (crucial for life). Do you find this irrational or otherwise wrong?
- Will_Parker 9y ago
  It would be irrational to pay more for water from France vs water from the tap, if they're the exact same product.
  - dozzie 9y ago
    ...unless you can't get water from tap and the only thing that seems to fit your criteria at this moment is the water from France, and thus you need to convince the water from France to get to you instead of some local buyer.
- pound 9y ago
  or you may think of it as pricing the value you provide at how expensive that value around the place companies are in
  - dozzie 9y ago
    It's silly to expect a company to voluntarily pay more when it knows it can pay less for the same service.
- jpitz 9y ago
  It certainly places a bizarre incentive on getting a PO box in SF/NYC/DC, where doing so would not make me anymore productive or valuable.
- sidlls 9y ago
  Do you suppose there are differences between "glass of water" and "human being with skill between marginally and significantly better than average"? But I agree with you if you are pointing out that it's terrible that developers who aren't in the valley (or similar regions) don't demand higher wages, allowing employers to get away with paying based on location instead of value.
  - itake 9y ago
    same. I totally understand if a company just doesn't have the budget for an SF engineer, then they shouldn't hire from there. But if they do have the budget and they still want to price you to your city, then boo on them.

derekp7 9y ago

It depends on if your function is unique to the company. For example if you are the only developer for a particular organizational unit, then everyone has no choice but to interact with you. In that case you end up treated more like a service provider or remote outsourced resource.