4 ms·

> Rather than working 2 full time jobs, have you considered consulting or freelancing? Problem here is the level of stress. In my limited experience, no one hi

> Rather than working 2 full time jobs, have you considered consulting or freelancing? Problem here is the level of stress. In my limited experience, no one hires contractors/freelancers to do "easy" tasks. So, I would get the same level of stress plus all the disadvantages of being a freelancer/contractor.

cutthegrass2 5y ago
anecdotal I know, but companies i've worked with in the past hire freelancers do to the jobs the employees don't want to do.
- giantg2 5y ago
  Employees are allowed to say no to a task and keep their job?
  - burntoutfire 5y ago
    I am employee market, yes. You make people do the things they don't want to do, they start looking for another job and quit 2-3 months after. This has been a trend in my current company, to the degree that "developer preferences" is one of major factors when choosing tech stacks.
  - detaro 5y ago
    People are pretty damn good at finding reasons why they can't do a task or can't do it well or at least can't do it now, without it being an unacceptable direct "no, won't do that". And in plenty cases, loosing employees over something like that isn't worth it, especially for companies that already struggle with hiring enough and retaining knowledge.
  - ffdf3r3rf 5y ago
    You can say no but you will have to be tactful. A simple refusal might get you fired but asking for training or showing how you are inefficient at certain task, may send the message without embarrassing your boss.
- burntoutfire 5y ago
  Most contracts I've had were due to skill shortages - not enough people know technology X, so they can't be bothered to join at regular FTE wages - but if you offer twice that as a contract, then people start showing up. The relevant difference is the wage increase, the contract (instead of regular employment) is there mostly to create the illusion (to fool HR and some managers who can't deal with the fact that these programmers make more than them) that it's only a short-term emergency position fill, before the company can find suitable FTE - but in practice, the contracts are multi-year, because skill shortages for new/exotic tech just don't resolve themselves that quickly (demand tends to rise quicker than supply for a while), and also the company prefers to stay in denial and never raise the FTE wages they offer to meet the market expectations. So, the vacancies never get filled, and contractors stay for 3-5 years.
brtkdotse 5y ago
In this market _a lot_ of companies hire contractors at high rates because it’s the only way for them to hire. Especially firms considered “lame” by developers like banks, insurance companies, utilities etc. I work 30-35 hour low-stress weeks and make more than most managers.

cutthegrass2 5y ago

anecdotal I know, but companies i've worked with in the past hire freelancers do to the jobs the employees don't want to do.

giantg2 5y ago
Employees are allowed to say no to a task and keep their job?
- burntoutfire 5y ago
  I am employee market, yes. You make people do the things they don't want to do, they start looking for another job and quit 2-3 months after. This has been a trend in my current company, to the degree that "developer preferences" is one of major factors when choosing tech stacks.
- detaro 5y ago
  People are pretty damn good at finding reasons why they can't do a task or can't do it well or at least can't do it now, without it being an unacceptable direct "no, won't do that". And in plenty cases, loosing employees over something like that isn't worth it, especially for companies that already struggle with hiring enough and retaining knowledge.
- ffdf3r3rf 5y ago
  You can say no but you will have to be tactful. A simple refusal might get you fired but asking for training or showing how you are inefficient at certain task, may send the message without embarrassing your boss.
burntoutfire 5y ago
Most contracts I've had were due to skill shortages - not enough people know technology X, so they can't be bothered to join at regular FTE wages - but if you offer twice that as a contract, then people start showing up. The relevant difference is the wage increase, the contract (instead of regular employment) is there mostly to create the illusion (to fool HR and some managers who can't deal with the fact that these programmers make more than them) that it's only a short-term emergency position fill, before the company can find suitable FTE - but in practice, the contracts are multi-year, because skill shortages for new/exotic tech just don't resolve themselves that quickly (demand tends to rise quicker than supply for a while), and also the company prefers to stay in denial and never raise the FTE wages they offer to meet the market expectations. So, the vacancies never get filled, and contractors stay for 3-5 years.

brtkdotse 5y ago

In this market _a lot_ of companies hire contractors at high rates because it’s the only way for them to hire. Especially firms considered “lame” by developers like banks, insurance companies, utilities etc. I work 30-35 hour low-stress weeks and make more than most managers.