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What's wrong with 9 to 5ing, learning more, and doing your own thing on your own time for a while. There's NOTHING wrong with that. Don't buy into the romanti

What's wrong with 9 to 5ing, learning more, and doing your own thing on your own time for a while. There's NOTHING wrong with that. Don't buy into the romantic notion that you have to give 110% to your startup or it's not worth doing. Pragmatism is ok. Pragmatism is not mediocrity. Don't confuse the two. There's a lot of hyperbole and rhetoric in the startup world. Don't buy into it. Plenty of startups have been launched (and done well) in people's "off time".

unreal37 13y ago
And there's got to be a middle ground, where you could earn some income reliably (freelancing part-time) without being a 9-5'er. 90% business, 10% working for someone else to pay the bills.
fein 13y ago
I'm 26, work a 9-5, then do freelance work in my spare time. It's heaven. I have 3 jobs right now, one of which is a full time salaried gig with benefits, and the other two are moderate contract positions that I work in my spare time. There is no stagnation here. I code on easy stuff at work all day, then go home and explore technologies that a BigCo will never use. Down the road when looking for another job, there just won't be big roadblocks, just a massive list of code and projects completed.
niuzeta 13y ago
I am young, just out of university, had a passion for writing, did a major-cs-minor-literature. Now I do 9 to 5, and write after work. Life is good for me and I am happy because I love my work and after-work. The purist obsession that you need to be 100% devoted to something is beyond me, but like I said, I am happy and know that I am happy because I knew this would make me happy. The OP has a different opinion of happiness, and it's his happiness, and I don't find it offensive.
- frenchy 13y ago
  It's not so much his opinion of happiness, but his looking-down on other opinions of happiness.
  - niuzeta 13y ago
    exactly. that's why I'm rather unsettled by the article. However, I've seen a little too many of young-and-ambitious kinds that I've gotten used to them by now. Whether that's a good thing or bad is not for me, though.

unreal37 13y ago

And there's got to be a middle ground, where you could earn some income reliably (freelancing part-time) without being a 9-5'er. 90% business, 10% working for someone else to pay the bills.

fein 13y ago

I'm 26, work a 9-5, then do freelance work in my spare time. It's heaven. I have 3 jobs right now, one of which is a full time salaried gig with benefits, and the other two are moderate contract positions that I work in my spare time. There is no stagnation here. I code on easy stuff at work all day, then go home and explore technologies that a BigCo will never use. Down the road when looking for another job, there just won't be big roadblocks, just a massive list of code and projects completed.

niuzeta 13y ago

I am young, just out of university, had a passion for writing, did a major-cs-minor-literature. Now I do 9 to 5, and write after work. Life is good for me and I am happy because I love my work and after-work. The purist obsession that you need to be 100% devoted to something is beyond me, but like I said, I am happy and know that I am happy because I knew this would make me happy. The OP has a different opinion of happiness, and it's his happiness, and I don't find it offensive.

frenchy 13y ago
It's not so much his opinion of happiness, but his looking-down on other opinions of happiness.
- niuzeta 13y ago
  exactly. that's why I'm rather unsettled by the article. However, I've seen a little too many of young-and-ambitious kinds that I've gotten used to them by now. Whether that's a good thing or bad is not for me, though.