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speaking as someone who has experience working for other people /and/ starting companies, I would argue that a lack of social skills is limiting in both. In bo

by lsc 16y ago

speaking as someone who has experience working for other people /and/ starting companies, I would argue that a lack of social skills is limiting in both. In both cases, if you are primarily a technical person, yea, lacking social skills is a problem that will hold you back, but it's not the end of the world, or your career. It's certainly not as bad as, say, being of average intelligence, or lacking curiosity, or being lazy. Running your own company gives you a lot more flexibility; if you know yourself well, you can use that flexibility to build a situation where your strengths help and your weaknesses don't matter so much... But really, the computer industry was designed for mildly-autistic nerds who don't play well with others. by the standards of such things, I'm almost a friendly extrovert.

Mz 16y ago
speaking as someone who has experience working for other people /and/ starting companies, I would argue that a lack of social skills is limiting in both. That isn't my primary concern. I have a form of cystic fibrosis, which has a life expectancy in the mid-thirties. My 23 year old son has the same diagnosis. He has not been on antibiotics in over 12 years and has taken no medication for about 3 1/2 years. This was achieved by carefully arranging our lives, something you cannot do in a job. He also has other issues, like eyesight issues. I currently work for a large company and have been stuck in the same entry level job for nearly four years. Conditions at work are a problem for me due to my health and this means my performance at work is not that great and it shows. If my son has adequate control over his working conditions, he can be very productive. If he doesn't, he can't be. Most employers are not going to accommodate his needs. And I went through the intake process with a program for helping handicapped individuals get a job. Fortunately, I got a job on my own before they provided any of their so-called "assistance" or I likely would be in worse straits. I am very good at explaining social things to my sons and helping them cope in that regard. They can do that piece of it. But they still need a high degree of control over their lives, something a regular job will not offer.
- lsc 16y ago
  ah, I misunderstood. yeah, you really can't beat the flexibility of being self-employed.
silvestrov 16y ago
The social skills you need as a one-person company is much narrower set than what's needed when employed at a big political-minded company. When you are a consultant you have only one boss: they guy that is able to sign the check. When you are employed, there can be multiple official and non-official bosses that you have to satisfy, plus all of the personal/social drama.
- lsc 16y ago
  eh, the social drama is different, and it depends on the industry. For instance, I can hold down a SysAdmin job just fine, as a contractor or not, but I lack the social skills to rent out people who work for me as sysadmins, even when they are obviously good people and I'm charging below market rates. in some cases, I've given up and suggested the people for direct hire... and they got hired, at rates higher than I would have charged, even including my cut. I think either way, there is a tradeoff. If you get shit done, people will put up with a lot of social problems, in both situations. Like the guy who wrote a hn story about how I didn't answer his support email. He refused a refund and wanted to remain a customer... the thing was, he wanted better support, but when the rubber hit the road and it was time to cut a cheque, he chose cheap over good support. You can set up your company so that social skills don't matter as much, but that limits what markets you can go after. You can also choose your career while working for others, and get similar tolerance for social oddity. (of course, the OP's problem was not so much social skills as flexibility, and being self-employed almost always is more flexible than working for other people.)

by lsc 16y ago

Mz 16y ago

speaking as someone who has experience working for other people /and/ starting companies, I would argue that a lack of social skills is limiting in both. That isn't my primary concern. I have a form of cystic fibrosis, which has a life expectancy in the mid-thirties. My 23 year old son has the same diagnosis. He has not been on antibiotics in over 12 years and has taken no medication for about 3 1/2 years. This was achieved by carefully arranging our lives, something you cannot do in a job. He also has other issues, like eyesight issues. I currently work for a large company and have been stuck in the same entry level job for nearly four years. Conditions at work are a problem for me due to my health and this means my performance at work is not that great and it shows. If my son has adequate control over his working conditions, he can be very productive. If he doesn't, he can't be. Most employers are not going to accommodate his needs. And I went through the intake process with a program for helping handicapped individuals get a job. Fortunately, I got a job on my own before they provided any of their so-called "assistance" or I likely would be in worse straits. I am very good at explaining social things to my sons and helping them cope in that regard. They can do that piece of it. But they still need a high degree of control over their lives, something a regular job will not offer.

lsc 16y ago
ah, I misunderstood. yeah, you really can't beat the flexibility of being self-employed.

silvestrov 16y ago

The social skills you need as a one-person company is much narrower set than what's needed when employed at a big political-minded company. When you are a consultant you have only one boss: they guy that is able to sign the check. When you are employed, there can be multiple official and non-official bosses that you have to satisfy, plus all of the personal/social drama.

lsc 16y ago
eh, the social drama is different, and it depends on the industry. For instance, I can hold down a SysAdmin job just fine, as a contractor or not, but I lack the social skills to rent out people who work for me as sysadmins, even when they are obviously good people and I'm charging below market rates. in some cases, I've given up and suggested the people for direct hire... and they got hired, at rates higher than I would have charged, even including my cut. I think either way, there is a tradeoff. If you get shit done, people will put up with a lot of social problems, in both situations. Like the guy who wrote a hn story about how I didn't answer his support email. He refused a refund and wanted to remain a customer... the thing was, he wanted better support, but when the rubber hit the road and it was time to cut a cheque, he chose cheap over good support. You can set up your company so that social skills don't matter as much, but that limits what markets you can go after. You can also choose your career while working for others, and get similar tolerance for social oddity. (of course, the OP's problem was not so much social skills as flexibility, and being self-employed almost always is more flexible than working for other people.)