4 ms·
You say that his current job has been financially rough on the family. Being a freelance webdeveloper is going to be financially challanging for the family too.
by niekmaas 16y ago
You say that his current job has been financially rough on the family. Being a freelance webdeveloper is going to be financially challanging for the family too. Especially in the beginning when he hasn't build up a group of clients it can be really bad. For the young developers that is easier to cope with since they usually don't have mortgages/kids going to college etc.
So, will he keep his job as a contractor to sustain a stable income (in case this is stable considering the current financial climate)? Does he have a financial buffer to cope with times when he doesn't have freelance work? Will you send him work to do? If so this does make you kind of responsible for a part of the family income too.
What I would tell my dad: start doing it on the side, only when you have build up a big enough group of clients go for it full-time. I don't think the age is a problem some clients even like it when you are a bit older.
- hga 16y agoConstruction as an industry has collapsed in this country and therefore trying to find a new career makes a lot of sense. I too share ryanwaggoner's concern about his father being able to find work, but as a (once successful, before the crash of the field) general contractor he already has a good fraction of the social skills needed to become a contractor / freelancer in this field. Given that, while the startup process might be tough as you point out, it's at least in one of the only 3 general areas in our field where older folk can get or stay employed and is worth trying. (The other two areas are embedded and classified work, the latter because it's very expensive for the initial company to pay someone to do non-classified work or just (mostly) sit on their thumbs while waiting for the bureaucracy to finish their work)).