5 ms·

Full time remote here: I love it. Big pot of coffee I brewed ONCE in the morning and will drink from a thermos the rest of the day? Check. Timer cube that sou

Full time remote here: I love it. Big pot of coffee I brewed ONCE in the morning and will drink from a thermos the rest of the day? Check. Timer cube that sounds ever 25 minutes for pomodoros? Check. Food in fridge ready to be cooked? Check. Absolute golden silence? Check. Adorable black cat sitting in lap? Check. Yep. Can confirm. It's pretty nice.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
Downsides: * No adult interaction daily unless you make an active effort on your breaks or work from a coworking space * Possibly limited mobility and networking opportunities in your org (as someone else mentioned in thread, lack of casual interactions besides those you interact with on a daily basis) * Wage compression due to larger candidate pool for remote roles * Harder to disconnect/unplug from work comms, especially if your org "follows the sun" and is global * Politics still exist (there is no such thing as "no politics" in an org) * Video chat is not a replacement for in person body language interpretation TLDR Contractor style employment without contractor style pay bump I highly recommend remote work if it enables you to live somewhere without the role locally you're suited for, and you have a network of colleagues to fall back on for other remote work in the event your role doesn't work out or disappears, and you have a solid emergency fund. I do not recommend remote work if the compensation delta vs an in person role available to you is not substantial, or if you value daily socialization.
- honkycat 8y ago
  You have a lot of really great points here. I think you are right. I will have to move on once I want a raise or promotion, but it's nice for now. I'm basically taking it as a chance to clock in, do a great job at work, clock out, and study for my next career move. I feel like a contractor would be expected to work much harder / have a higher accountability than a salaried worker, no?
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    My observation is contractors have similar accountability to FTEs, but contractors get paid for every hour they work (compared to the free time expected of FTEs).
megaman8 8y ago
you forgot one thing: Pay a tiny fraction of what others are paying for real-estate Check Take the savings and invest in retirement portfolio and retire early Check
teh_klev 8y ago
Scottish bloke here and full time remote since 2003, and also now self employed. I could never go back to working in an office. I'm also fortunate to live in a nice Perthshire village where I've known people for years and years so I get a decent bit of non-work adult chat when I head out to grab some lunch bits and pieces, or just to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. The village also has a couple of nice pubs so if I need some more human interaction in the evening I just pop out for a swift one and have a good old blether with whoever's in the bar. My current "boss" (who's also a long time ex-colleague) takes a trip up from the the other side of Edinburgh once a month or so, I pay for lunch in return for him making the journey. We spend the day going over current and upcoming project work and it's a pretty relaxed affair. So....can also confirm it's pretty nice, verging on idyllic.

toomuchtodo 8y ago

Downsides: * No adult interaction daily unless you make an active effort on your breaks or work from a coworking space * Possibly limited mobility and networking opportunities in your org (as someone else mentioned in thread, lack of casual interactions besides those you interact with on a daily basis) * Wage compression due to larger candidate pool for remote roles * Harder to disconnect/unplug from work comms, especially if your org "follows the sun" and is global * Politics still exist (there is no such thing as "no politics" in an org) * Video chat is not a replacement for in person body language interpretation TLDR Contractor style employment without contractor style pay bump I highly recommend remote work if it enables you to live somewhere without the role locally you're suited for, and you have a network of colleagues to fall back on for other remote work in the event your role doesn't work out or disappears, and you have a solid emergency fund. I do not recommend remote work if the compensation delta vs an in person role available to you is not substantial, or if you value daily socialization.

honkycat 8y ago
You have a lot of really great points here. I think you are right. I will have to move on once I want a raise or promotion, but it's nice for now. I'm basically taking it as a chance to clock in, do a great job at work, clock out, and study for my next career move. I feel like a contractor would be expected to work much harder / have a higher accountability than a salaried worker, no?
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  My observation is contractors have similar accountability to FTEs, but contractors get paid for every hour they work (compared to the free time expected of FTEs).

megaman8 8y ago

you forgot one thing: Pay a tiny fraction of what others are paying for real-estate Check Take the savings and invest in retirement portfolio and retire early Check

teh_klev 8y ago

Scottish bloke here and full time remote since 2003, and also now self employed. I could never go back to working in an office. I'm also fortunate to live in a nice Perthshire village where I've known people for years and years so I get a decent bit of non-work adult chat when I head out to grab some lunch bits and pieces, or just to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. The village also has a couple of nice pubs so if I need some more human interaction in the evening I just pop out for a swift one and have a good old blether with whoever's in the bar. My current "boss" (who's also a long time ex-colleague) takes a trip up from the the other side of Edinburgh once a month or so, I pay for lunch in return for him making the journey. We spend the day going over current and upcoming project work and it's a pretty relaxed affair. So....can also confirm it's pretty nice, verging on idyllic.