4 ms·

I am in the exact same line of work as the author. I can't imagine working the way he describes. It's great that he's made this lifestyle work for him, but I'm

by j4pe 13y ago

I am in the exact same line of work as the author. I can't imagine working the way he describes. It's great that he's made this lifestyle work for him, but I'm not convinced I'd like to be one of his clients. A technology company with a developer on staff one day per week? Coordinating a project is difficult enough when everybody is full-time. ("Sure thing, I'll tackle that bug in six days" is not a recipe for a functional sprint.) My solution has been to charge hard at whatever milestone I've committed to, working as a de facto team member, and then taking the next month off. This works well with my lifestyle, since I try to take each project in a new city and I live cheaply. What I would say to the author: you want fulfilling? Participate in the optimistic urgency of a new tech venture fully - then take your time off when you've finished. If you can't afford to spend that much time away from developing your startup, then how can you expect your clients to wait while you take time off from theirs?

vassvdm 13y ago
I agree that the way I work is definitely not for everyone, and I only accept projects where I am confident that the client sees eye to eye with me. It wouldn't work if I was the only developer working on the project. There are several other, more junior developers on the team who work more hours than I do. The client is very happy with the arrangement because it ends up costing much less than if I was on the team full-time and he is sure that every day I work is a day where things actually move forward significantly. He rather gets frustrated when freelancers charge several days of work and little progress seems to occur. There is at least a perception of lesser waste of time/money when work is concentrated over a small period of time, and I would argue that there is less actual waste.
codelust 13y ago
I have kind of stumbled on to the same line, though I'm in the early stages of getting over the shock of it all as it was not something I was looking to do and considering where I am located (India), I never would have thought it would be possible. I guess there is no one right way to do this. A lot depends on your own abilities, strengths and the terms in which you can get clients. If you have leverage and can deliver well, the timing is not an issue. In any case, I'm glad there are more people doing the same :)
calibraxis 13y ago
I've seen something like this before. If a freelancer doesn't work as much as employees, they can cherry-pick what they want to do. I've seen freelancers excellent at this cherry-picking. They can get a hell of a lot done because they choose the greenest of greenfield programming. Observe what the author says: • "It wouldn't work if I was the only developer working on the project." • "There are several other, more junior developers on the team who work more hours than I do." Yes, works better if you have power to set the direction, more bargaining power than employees, and have your voice heard more (perhaps due to more experience, or aggressiveness, etc). This isn't a condemnation; workplaces are inherently political, which means I play politics regardless of whether I admit it. (Also means I've needed to observe others' political games.)

by j4pe 13y ago

vassvdm 13y ago

I agree that the way I work is definitely not for everyone, and I only accept projects where I am confident that the client sees eye to eye with me. It wouldn't work if I was the only developer working on the project. There are several other, more junior developers on the team who work more hours than I do. The client is very happy with the arrangement because it ends up costing much less than if I was on the team full-time and he is sure that every day I work is a day where things actually move forward significantly. He rather gets frustrated when freelancers charge several days of work and little progress seems to occur. There is at least a perception of lesser waste of time/money when work is concentrated over a small period of time, and I would argue that there is less actual waste.

codelust 13y ago

I have kind of stumbled on to the same line, though I'm in the early stages of getting over the shock of it all as it was not something I was looking to do and considering where I am located (India), I never would have thought it would be possible. I guess there is no one right way to do this. A lot depends on your own abilities, strengths and the terms in which you can get clients. If you have leverage and can deliver well, the timing is not an issue. In any case, I'm glad there are more people doing the same :)

calibraxis 13y ago

I've seen something like this before. If a freelancer doesn't work as much as employees, they can cherry-pick what they want to do. I've seen freelancers excellent at this cherry-picking. They can get a hell of a lot done because they choose the greenest of greenfield programming. Observe what the author says: • "It wouldn't work if I was the only developer working on the project." • "There are several other, more junior developers on the team who work more hours than I do." Yes, works better if you have power to set the direction, more bargaining power than employees, and have your voice heard more (perhaps due to more experience, or aggressiveness, etc). This isn't a condemnation; workplaces are inherently political, which means I play politics regardless of whether I admit it. (Also means I've needed to observe others' political games.)