4 ms·

You are none of the above. If you've got a few years of development experience in companies like that, I recommend you "find a boss [you] respect" by becoming

by aculver 13y ago

You are none of the above. If you've got a few years of development experience in companies like that, I recommend you "find a boss [you] respect" by becoming your own boss. Start with consulting. These engagements are different than employment because often times they're not full-time and you can stagger a couple of contracts together at the same time. This is to your advantage because you now have two "bosses" (clients) instead of one. I know it sounds counterintuitive that more bosses are better, but if things aren't going as you'd like on one contract, you can move on to another contract as it becomes available without the sort of risk you incur when you're switching full-time employment at one company to another. From there, you can further increase your independence by building a product that has many smaller customers. Again, many "bosses", but you need each one individually much less, so you're actually more in control of your circumstances. If it doesn't work out, you can be reasonably confident you can just fall back into regular full-time employment. In this scenario, your definition of failure is most people's definition of success.

kevando 13y ago
This also helps you gain perspective. Once you work for yourself, you may hear yourself spitting bullshit, creating bogus plans, not closing deals, making short-sighted decisions, implementing poor management practices, pivoting too often, etc. Then you see the doors swings both ways.
- czbond 13y ago
  This made me laugh, because it's so true.
  - angersock 13y ago
    "I'm self-employed, and my boss is still an asshole."
    - aragot 13y ago
      ...but I'm learning"
- allochthon 13y ago
  And then you can work to stop making short-sighted decisions and implementing poor management practices, because you can identify the bullshit.
cleaver 13y ago
On the first day of my first consulting gig, as I was getting set up, an argument ensued over which server I should be doing my work on. In my old job I would have got caught up in the nonsense. This time I could just say: "OK, you guys figure it out, I'll just wait over here". Sitting and reading while you count the dollars someone else is burning through can be rather therapeutic.
- aantix 13y ago
  As a fellow consultant, I found this comment quite liberating. Thank-you.
- mgkimsal 13y ago
  This time I could just say: "OK, you guys figure it out, I'll just wait over here". You could have said that before in other situations. Regardless of what your work situation is, you can always do this. I haven't but in retrospect realize I could have in more situations than I want to acknowledge. The downside to that is you end up having to live with someone else's decisions for far longer than they spent making the decision, which may often stink. But as an independent consultant you still have to do the same thing. The only primary difference I see is that you usually can see an end in sight when you won't have to deal with decision X, whether it's jumping to another client for the afternoon work, or getting a different contract 6 months from now.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 13y ago
    You can, and I do. The difficulty is catching yourself in time before you are drawn into the conflict. It's amazing when you see it happening "from the outside" and you realize how much time you were formerly wasting by participating in what are, in the end, usually pointless arguments. Disengage, then say "let me know by XX:YY when you make a decision" and find something else to work on. Truly liberating.
- S_A_P 13y ago
  As a fellow consultant, I would like to add that the temporary nature of consulting work makes this sort of infighting and politics a lot more palatable to me. I know that in 3-6 months I can laugh at it...(or at least forget about it) So I sort of suffer from the same symptoms as the OP. Consulting has proven to be a good choice for me, as I do get some variety and dont get as bored as I did when I was a FTE somewhere...
notastartup 13y ago
Where do you find such consulting work? Surely not craigslist . Then where? Should I buy leads from Adwords? Do you need to become a partner for an ERP software company? How successful will you be calling yourself a 'consultant'.
- aculver 13y ago
  If you have any friends that freelance, reach out to them. If they're successful, they'll know about more projects than they can take on, and may be willing to refer some over to you. They may have also been approached by consulting companies that have more work to do than they can handle, and are looking for independent consultants to help with the load. The rates on those projects are usually a little less than your normal rate, but quite good for getting into the groove of things early on. You can also reach out to local consulting companies yourself and make yourself available to them. If you have the choice between a short-term client that wants you 40 hours a week and a long-term client that wants you 10 hours a week, take the long-term client. They'll reduce the risk of being in business for yourself, and you can take on other part-time contracts in addition. When you've got the benefit of a long term engagement, you can experiment with your pricing more with the remaining time. I end up giving a pretty significant discount to the companies I'm engaged with over the long term, as my rates on new projects are constantly going up.
- cpncrunch 13y ago
  The only reliable place I have found is jobserve.com. That was in the UK, but they seem to have US jobs as well. You might also find some contract jobs on the craigslist jobs sections (just tick the 'contract' option). The computer gigs section of craigslist is a bit hopeless. Note that this is for medium-to-long-term contract jobs typically lasting 6-12 months.
- atiffany 13y ago
  email me :)
  - notastartup 13y ago
    sent you an email just now!
baldfat 13y ago
People leave because of management most of the time. Read this article and you'll thank me. http://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/people-leave-managers-not-companies-114613.aspx http://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/people-leave-managers-not-comp...
SkyMarshal 13y ago
Unfortunately consulting work doesn't solve any of his problems, he'll still be dealing with the same issues, just under a different employment contract. The only way to really solve those problems and put yourself in a qualitatively different situation, is found your own startup where you'll truly be your own boss, or at least only have to answer to investors who care more about the big picture.
- Gobiner 13y ago
  It solves the problem of being emotionally connected to the job. Maybe it doesn't materially change the day-to-day work, but it's a completely different experience when you can sit back and and get paid $100/hr while other people do stupid things.
badman_ting 13y ago
You could do that. But you may find you traded one boss you don't like for seven bosses you don't like.
liveoneggs 13y ago
great advice and I agree. Consulting and working hourly changed my perspective a lot.

by aculver 13y ago

kevando 13y ago

This also helps you gain perspective. Once you work for yourself, you may hear yourself spitting bullshit, creating bogus plans, not closing deals, making short-sighted decisions, implementing poor management practices, pivoting too often, etc. Then you see the doors swings both ways.

czbond 13y ago
This made me laugh, because it's so true.
- angersock 13y ago
  "I'm self-employed, and my boss is still an asshole."
  - aragot 13y ago
    ...but I'm learning"
allochthon 13y ago
And then you can work to stop making short-sighted decisions and implementing poor management practices, because you can identify the bullshit.

cleaver 13y ago

On the first day of my first consulting gig, as I was getting set up, an argument ensued over which server I should be doing my work on. In my old job I would have got caught up in the nonsense. This time I could just say: "OK, you guys figure it out, I'll just wait over here". Sitting and reading while you count the dollars someone else is burning through can be rather therapeutic.

aantix 13y ago
As a fellow consultant, I found this comment quite liberating. Thank-you.
mgkimsal 13y ago
This time I could just say: "OK, you guys figure it out, I'll just wait over here". You could have said that before in other situations. Regardless of what your work situation is, you can always do this. I haven't but in retrospect realize I could have in more situations than I want to acknowledge. The downside to that is you end up having to live with someone else's decisions for far longer than they spent making the decision, which may often stink. But as an independent consultant you still have to do the same thing. The only primary difference I see is that you usually can see an end in sight when you won't have to deal with decision X, whether it's jumping to another client for the afternoon work, or getting a different contract 6 months from now.
- HeyLaughingBoy 13y ago
  You can, and I do. The difficulty is catching yourself in time before you are drawn into the conflict. It's amazing when you see it happening "from the outside" and you realize how much time you were formerly wasting by participating in what are, in the end, usually pointless arguments. Disengage, then say "let me know by XX:YY when you make a decision" and find something else to work on. Truly liberating.
S_A_P 13y ago
As a fellow consultant, I would like to add that the temporary nature of consulting work makes this sort of infighting and politics a lot more palatable to me. I know that in 3-6 months I can laugh at it...(or at least forget about it) So I sort of suffer from the same symptoms as the OP. Consulting has proven to be a good choice for me, as I do get some variety and dont get as bored as I did when I was a FTE somewhere...

notastartup 13y ago

Where do you find such consulting work? Surely not craigslist . Then where? Should I buy leads from Adwords? Do you need to become a partner for an ERP software company? How successful will you be calling yourself a 'consultant'.

aculver 13y ago
If you have any friends that freelance, reach out to them. If they're successful, they'll know about more projects than they can take on, and may be willing to refer some over to you. They may have also been approached by consulting companies that have more work to do than they can handle, and are looking for independent consultants to help with the load. The rates on those projects are usually a little less than your normal rate, but quite good for getting into the groove of things early on. You can also reach out to local consulting companies yourself and make yourself available to them. If you have the choice between a short-term client that wants you 40 hours a week and a long-term client that wants you 10 hours a week, take the long-term client. They'll reduce the risk of being in business for yourself, and you can take on other part-time contracts in addition. When you've got the benefit of a long term engagement, you can experiment with your pricing more with the remaining time. I end up giving a pretty significant discount to the companies I'm engaged with over the long term, as my rates on new projects are constantly going up.
cpncrunch 13y ago
The only reliable place I have found is jobserve.com. That was in the UK, but they seem to have US jobs as well. You might also find some contract jobs on the craigslist jobs sections (just tick the 'contract' option). The computer gigs section of craigslist is a bit hopeless. Note that this is for medium-to-long-term contract jobs typically lasting 6-12 months.
atiffany 13y ago
email me :)
- notastartup 13y ago
  sent you an email just now!

baldfat 13y ago

People leave because of management most of the time. Read this article and you'll thank me. http://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/people-leave-managers-not-companies-114613.aspx http://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/people-leave-managers-not-comp...

SkyMarshal 13y ago

Unfortunately consulting work doesn't solve any of his problems, he'll still be dealing with the same issues, just under a different employment contract. The only way to really solve those problems and put yourself in a qualitatively different situation, is found your own startup where you'll truly be your own boss, or at least only have to answer to investors who care more about the big picture.

Gobiner 13y ago
It solves the problem of being emotionally connected to the job. Maybe it doesn't materially change the day-to-day work, but it's a completely different experience when you can sit back and and get paid $100/hr while other people do stupid things.

badman_ting 13y ago

You could do that. But you may find you traded one boss you don't like for seven bosses you don't like.

liveoneggs 13y ago

great advice and I agree. Consulting and working hourly changed my perspective a lot.