4 ms·

There's only one positive thing for people who don't want to stay in a 9-5 job for life - being able to free up your brain on a daily basis in order to work on

There's only one positive thing for people who don't want to stay in a 9-5 job for life - being able to free up your brain on a daily basis in order to work on your personal project. It's a huge plus if you have a lot of bills to pay (mortgage, kids, etc.), while trying to launch your own business and to get rid of your 9-5 life. I personally don't know what drives people to work for other people... Well, otherwise no one would work for your own business I guess :)

paulcole 8y ago
> I personally don't know what drives people to work for other people I’m lazy and unmotivated. I have no goals and no plans for the future other than dying before I run out of money or life gets too unbearable. I have to get up in the morning and make money to get by. May as do as little as I have to.
muzani 8y ago
> "I personally don't know what drives people to work for other people." I've done a few businesses before. It's extremely stressful when it goes bad. My bosses now haven't had a vacation in years. It's easier to fire the boss and get a better one than for the boss to fire a star developer. When it goes well, you get more money than the people who work for you. Sometimes. With tech, the larger cut often ends up for the people who do the work. So all things given, if you're an engineer, it's probably better to work for other people. The only reason I see to own your own business is if you don't trust someone else to be in charge.
- tedmiston 8y ago
  Of course with the caveat that in tech, we as engineers can work for other people and still own the business in the form of equity, at least a portion of it.
tedmiston 8y ago
> I personally don't know what drives people to work for other people Absolute return - the downside risk is reduced compared to running your own startup or small business, most of which go out of business in their first few years. And stability. (I'm an employee and single-member business owner.)
dasmoth 8y ago
There’s a pretty strong social expectation of “getting a job”. When full time “working for the man” employment is what friends and family expect, it easily becomes the default. Mortgage lenders (and probably other financial institutions) are generally happier dealing with employees, too. I’m not actually convinced it’s entirely about immediate risk: employees get laid off frequently enough that I don’t think the short-to-mid-term risk difference really justifies the preference. Rather, it’s that working a normal-looking day job is a conformity signal.

paulcole 8y ago

> I personally don't know what drives people to work for other people I’m lazy and unmotivated. I have no goals and no plans for the future other than dying before I run out of money or life gets too unbearable. I have to get up in the morning and make money to get by. May as do as little as I have to.

muzani 8y ago

> "I personally don't know what drives people to work for other people." I've done a few businesses before. It's extremely stressful when it goes bad. My bosses now haven't had a vacation in years. It's easier to fire the boss and get a better one than for the boss to fire a star developer. When it goes well, you get more money than the people who work for you. Sometimes. With tech, the larger cut often ends up for the people who do the work. So all things given, if you're an engineer, it's probably better to work for other people. The only reason I see to own your own business is if you don't trust someone else to be in charge.

tedmiston 8y ago
Of course with the caveat that in tech, we as engineers can work for other people and still own the business in the form of equity, at least a portion of it.

tedmiston 8y ago

> I personally don't know what drives people to work for other people Absolute return - the downside risk is reduced compared to running your own startup or small business, most of which go out of business in their first few years. And stability. (I'm an employee and single-member business owner.)

dasmoth 8y ago

There’s a pretty strong social expectation of “getting a job”. When full time “working for the man” employment is what friends and family expect, it easily becomes the default. Mortgage lenders (and probably other financial institutions) are generally happier dealing with employees, too. I’m not actually convinced it’s entirely about immediate risk: employees get laid off frequently enough that I don’t think the short-to-mid-term risk difference really justifies the preference. Rather, it’s that working a normal-looking day job is a conformity signal.