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Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

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Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#131

Post by tyingq »

You could try being a staff augmentation contractor, working mostly 6 to 12 month gigs. Search any job board looking for keywords like contract or 1099.

You'll end up working at big companies, but are generally exempted from a lot of the bullshit. Things like company kool-aid meetings, non technical training, performance reviews, etc.

It's sort of in between running your own company and being an employee.

The risk profile is higher. You might see significant downtime between gigs. So you'll have to be disciplined about putting money aside.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#132

Post by SyneRyder »

It seems that most of your objection is to the company and it's goals, but not actually to working for other people. Have you considered working for a non-profit or charity, or a company where the products / services align with your values?

Maybe grab yourself a copy of Anita Roddick's "Business As Unusual", or "Ben & Jerry's Double Dip" to read about businesses that use capitalism to also have a social impact. On the not-for-profit side, Muhammad Yunus' "Banker To The Poor". Then start thinking about the kinds of companies or organizations you might like to work for.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#133

Post by rbobby »

jcadam wrote: post #98
paulmatthijs wrote: post #21

There’s a thing between being entrepeneurship and working for a company: freelancing. It’s for those that feel no attachment to a company, but do have a very developed skill set or trade. In our free market economy, there will always be a system where someone hires you to create value, which costs less than it makes them, in the end. If you want a bigger slice of that pie, you need to make it a viable business case.…

Egads! I'm so ready to do this. I'm in my late 30s and have been a salaried engineer my entire career. I'm sick of corporate culture and dealing with dysfunctional petty politics. My current environment is particularly depressing. You know the office from the first part of Joe vs the Volcano ? It's kind of like that :| I'll admit, there's an element of risk aversion holding me back. That and I simply can't afford to…

Do you know anyone that has left your company and is now working somewhere else? Talk to them about contracting opportunities.

And don't fall for nonsense about 'build a reputation' as a freelancer (mostly this is an attempt to reduce the rate you'll accept). You skills and experience speak for you, regardless of whether contract or full time.

What unique skills do freelancers have that you don't? Finding new gigs (not important to someone hiring); filing taxes (not important to someone hiring); having an accountant (not important to someone hiring); owning/operating a corporation of some form (not important to someone hiring).

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#134

Post by zackmorris »

makotech222 wrote: post #81
zackmorris wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to say the same thing but you beat me to it. Without some form of profit sharing or stake holding by employees, there is simply no way to make the workplace fair. That fairness was traditionally sought by unions but they have lost much of their influence for political reasons because of their relationship with socialism. Richard Wolff has talked at length about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynbgMK…

Just want to point out. Socialism doesn't give rise to fascism in any way. Fascism is basically late-stage capitalism, and a rejection of socialism. Communism is late-stage socialism, which is a utopian society. The words are a bit bundled up in usage. The communist revolution lead to a State-Capitalist USSR, which most scholars would say is not what socialism actually is (as per your Richard Wolff videos) I suggest…

Ya I was thinking of WWII Germany but I’m not sure if the Nazi party was really socialist or just used the term in place of populist.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#135

Post by amiuba »

itamarst wrote: post #68

Duplicating other points, to some extent: 1. You can reduce your working hours. E.g. you can negotiate a 4-day workweek. This means more time to do what you want. 2. You can pursue early retirement. Reducing your spending gives you more in the bank, and eventually you can not work. In the short term it improves your negotiating position. 3. You can find a job pursuing a goal you care about. E.g. work for a non-profit…

Thanks, your blog has pretty good posts, I enjoy reading them.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#136

Post by aSockPuppeteer »

I would advise against 1099 until you are thoroughly read up on the subject.

There are calculators out there and percentages for employee versus 1099 but really it comes down to risk. You could be out of contract, injure yourself, and need to find income in that state. If you can mitigate that risk then you are ready.

In the meantime you may want to try a few courses in business or entrepreneurial skills at a local college or online.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#137

Post by PerfectElement »

Whenever I felt like that, I used a mental hack to make me feel better. I would sit down and start to think (or write) about all the things I am grateful for. Coming from a third world country, it was easy to see how good it was to be highly employable and live in a relatively safe society. This would instantly put me in a good mood and make me feel proud of my achievements.

Being grateful doesn't mean you should accept your lot in life and stop striving for improvements. It will just help you make peace with where you are at right now, so you can focus on your next steps without the negative pressure.

Today I run my own business and make more money than I ever expected, and I still use this method whenever I'm having a bad day.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#138

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

paulmatthijs wrote: post #21

There’s a thing between being entrepeneurship and working for a company: freelancing. It’s for those that feel no attachment to a company, but do have a very developed skill set or trade. In our free market economy, there will always be a system where someone hires you to create value, which costs less than it makes them, in the end. If you want a bigger slice of that pie, you need to make it a viable business case.…

Doesn't freelancing dry up during economic downturns? I recall hearing some rather grim stories during the 2008 recession and the dot com bust and, if one takes the various economy related articles that appear on HN with increasing frequency these days seriously, we're about due for another bust.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#139

Post by shortoncash »

tyingq wrote: post #131

You could try being a staff augmentation contractor, working mostly 6 to 12 month gigs. Search any job board looking for keywords like contract or 1099. You'll end up working at big companies, but are generally exempted from a lot of the bullshit. Things like company kool-aid meetings, non technical training, performance reviews, etc. It's sort of in between running your own company and being an employee. The risk pr…

Have you done this? The job board advertised rates seem a bit on the low side in relation to the downtime risk. (I'm only asking because I'm curious, not because your advice sounds bad or anything.)

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?

#140

Post by xiphias »

For me it took a few years of non-payed vacation to realize that it's more important how I invest my money than how much I earn at a workplace. Creating a startup is just even more working. It's so much easier to invest well, make sure that you have your stable job, and actually you don't have to care about getting a raise anymore, just wait until you have enough money to retire. Also investing is great if you have a stable job, as you don't need to save much cash (which I was doing before investing).

As for investment, I love Bitcoin, as I believe it solves the biggest problem with our financial system, but other new tech companies may be interesting for you as well.

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