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If you're coding for a non-technical business, i.e. one in which they're not directly selling your productive output, then it's not hard at all to get to a poin

If you're coding for a non-technical business, i.e. one in which they're not directly selling your productive output, then it's not hard at all to get to a point where your daily tasks don't take more than a few minutes a day. After all, it's other people that are actually driving the revenue. You can ask for more duties, but their capacity to define tasks for you is never going to outpace your ability to deliver. My advice is to not fight this state of affairs. Figure out your own way to stay productive. Divide up your spare time between coming up with ideas for your employer and doing side projects. Take long lunches with your coworkers and leave at 4. You can find happy professional nirvana but you have to believe in it first.

proverbialbunny 8y ago
imho a great sweet spot is turning most of that free time into learning new skills. It's fun, productive, and not frowned upon, even if the class has nothing to do with the current job.
3pt14159 8y ago
The key for this type of setup is to make sure that they understand your job is like that of a security guard. You're there for when all your carefully coded alarms start going off. You're not there to help shovel the sidewalk because then you might miss your alarms. As long as that is properly understood you can get a contract that is permissive enough to allow you to work on something else at work when nothing is burning. Even if you have to offer a reduced salary, it's worth it. Another option is to go the work on OSS route, especially on tools you use for work. After a couple years of doing semi-fulltime OS work you'll be commanding double the salary.
- vinceguidry 8y ago
  The key to this, and I meant to edit this into my comment, is to be super-responsive to any requests. Always be willing to drop whatever you're doing at a second's notice and help whoever it is that thinks you might be able to help them out. The word gets out and everyone in the company just loves you.

proverbialbunny 8y ago

imho a great sweet spot is turning most of that free time into learning new skills. It's fun, productive, and not frowned upon, even if the class has nothing to do with the current job.

3pt14159 8y ago

The key for this type of setup is to make sure that they understand your job is like that of a security guard. You're there for when all your carefully coded alarms start going off. You're not there to help shovel the sidewalk because then you might miss your alarms. As long as that is properly understood you can get a contract that is permissive enough to allow you to work on something else at work when nothing is burning. Even if you have to offer a reduced salary, it's worth it. Another option is to go the work on OSS route, especially on tools you use for work. After a couple years of doing semi-fulltime OS work you'll be commanding double the salary.

vinceguidry 8y ago
The key to this, and I meant to edit this into my comment, is to be super-responsive to any requests. Always be willing to drop whatever you're doing at a second's notice and help whoever it is that thinks you might be able to help them out. The word gets out and everyone in the company just loves you.