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Remote Only

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Re: Remote Only

#271

Post by pricees »

nvarsj wrote: post #207

My somewhat reductive conclusion about remote work is that it boils down to the ability to be an effective writer. If you're not good at written communication, or you work with people who are not good at it, remote work will be miserable. People who are not highly fluent in the company's written language or those with some level of dyslexia will struggle. Also some people get frustrated with the more analytic approac…

This has been my experience, 100%.

All of the jobs I have ever interviewed for casually listed "great oral and written communication" as a skill in the job reqs. I have felt that I had a problem in this area.

I have worked as a remote contractor off and on for most of my life and have never run into an issue.

For the past year and a half I have been on a remote team.

It wasn't until my team lead, who did all of the oral and written communication, left, this past month, that I was placed in the position to pick where he left off.

It became immediately evident how poor my skills are in this area. I know that I am a poor communicator, but I didn't realize just how insufficient I was. Not only grammar and spelling, but conveying complex subject matter in a succinct way for folks lacking detailed domain knowledge. This is a problem!

Regardless, there is hope. How do you get better at writing? Write more. At least that is what I am told. I am now chomping at the bit for long-form writing opportunities to get experiencing it putting thoughts and plans on paper, as well as, using a new SaaS app to commit/tracking writing 5 minutes a day.

Any and all tips are welcome.

Re: Remote Only

#272

Post by pavel_lishin »

AYBABTME wrote: post #231
nvarsj wrote: post #207

My somewhat reductive conclusion about remote work is that it boils down to the ability to be an effective writer. If you're not good at written communication, or you work with people who are not good at it, remote work will be miserable. People who are not highly fluent in the company's written language or those with some level of dyslexia will struggle. Also some people get frustrated with the more analytic approac…

People say that, yet in my experience it's not actually true. We just need to communicate enough to coordinate. I'm not a great communicator, I don't think most people at my work are great communicators, yet we work just fine as a remote company. I feel people exaggerate this belief. Regular chatter in public chat channels seems sufficient. What really seems to matter is work ethics.

> Regular chatter in public chat channels seems sufficient.

That means your teammates' communication skills are sufficient! Congratulations.

> What really seems to matter is work ethics.

I disagree. Work ethics mean nothing if you don't understand the work that needs to be done, because the problem or the approach is not communicated clearly.

Re: Remote Only

#273

Post by kharak »

pricees wrote: post #271
nvarsj wrote: post #207

My somewhat reductive conclusion about remote work is that it boils down to the ability to be an effective writer. If you're not good at written communication, or you work with people who are not good at it, remote work will be miserable. People who are not highly fluent in the company's written language or those with some level of dyslexia will struggle. Also some people get frustrated with the more analytic approac…

This has been my experience, 100%. All of the jobs I have ever interviewed for casually listed "great oral and written communication" as a skill in the job reqs. I have felt that I had a problem in this area. I have worked as a remote contractor off and on for most of my life and have never run into an issue. For the past year and a half I have been on a remote team. It wasn't until my team lead, who did all of the o…

I'm mildly confused. Your post here seems fine and quit readable. How do you arrive at the conclusion, that you're lacking in written communication skills?

(sorry for question instead of tips)

Re: Remote Only

#274

Post by yosito »

alter_eco123 wrote: post #77
allday wrote: post #18

> Save on compensation due to hiring in lower cost regions Pay people what they're worth regardless of where they live. If you have a developer in Nigeria or Ukraine or Vietnam that is as equally capable as a developer in the Bay Area, they should be paid the same. Doing otherwise, at best, perpetuates Western hegemony, and at worst is simply racism.

> Pay people what they're worth regardless of where they live. Note that people are fine with getting a lower salary in exchange for being able to work remotely. You could turn it around and say remote employees are "paying their employer what working remotely is worth".

Personally, if a company uses remote work as an excuse to pay less, that's a red flag for me. Pay should represent the value you offer to the company, period.

Re: Remote Only

#276

Post by saltycraig »

Serious question: how does this not just become a race to the bottom salary/compensation-wise the same way other remote sites like upwork have become? If I have to compete with others from all over the world who will settle for a lot less salary-wise, how do I even compete at all? I've got several years of programming experience, but I've never been able to secure jobs through sites like upwork because I'm unwilling to lower my rate to minimum-wage levels when I have a family and a desire to eat.

Re: Remote Only

#278

Post by msaltz »

Most of the comments on here relate to aspects of remote work and its limitations, but I haven’t seen anyone say what seems obvious to me - Having an office is nice! It’s good for me to have a place that my brain associates exclusively with work. It’s nice to interact with teammates in person. If I need quiet time or even if the weather is nice and I don’t feel like going into the office, I can go work from a cafe somewhere. I certainly see the appeal of remote work, but to me, having an office with the option of working from home is preferable.

Re: Remote Only

#279

Post by NoNotTheDuo »

kharak wrote: post #273
pricees wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has been my experience, 100%. All of the jobs I have ever interviewed for casually listed "great oral and written communication" as a skill in the job reqs. I have felt that I had a problem in this area. I have worked as a remote contractor off and on for most of my life and have never run into an issue. For the past year and a half I have been on a remote team. It wasn't until my team lead, who did all of the o…

I'm mildly confused. Your post here seems fine and quit readable. How do you arrive at the conclusion, that you're lacking in written communication skills? (sorry for question instead of tips)

May be evidence that the additional training/work s/he's put in is paying off. I agree that the post does not show a lack of written communication skills.

Re: Remote Only

#280

Post by bendixso »

LOL Disadvantage: "The need to prepare food."

Are we talking about generally existing as a human being? Yeah, until they invent food replicators you're gonna have to prepare your own food. Get used to it.

I'd say getting to use your own kitchen to prepare your own delicious and nutritious meals is one of the prime advantages of remote work. It saves you way more money over going out to eat, and it's a much more healthy alternative to blindly trusting a restaurant or some food service company like Sysco.

Then again, I am a bit of a maverick in that I make all of my lunches at home, even when I have an office I must travel to for work. You can do your entire week in advance on a Sunday evening, spending less than $30. Not. A. Hardship.

We really should push back against the catered meals and supposed "perks." That's money the company could have spent on increasing your salary or paying a higher dividend to shareholders. Instead of doing that, they've decided they're going to spend your money on an army of chefs to keep you at the office 24/7.

I'll take the higher pay, greater freedom and autonomy, and my own home cooked meals, thank you much.

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