Poll: Do you work for "the Man"? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#71

Post by statictype » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 4:24 AM UTC

gcr wrote: post #67

What's wrong with being employed? My employer is both super-interesting and reasonable; I can learn a lot from him.

What's wrong with being employed is that not everyone has the benefit of a nice employer. I also have a good and reasonable employer but not everyone does.

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#72

Post by richardw » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 5:07 AM UTC

olalonde wrote: post #58

nickbp wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my opinion, someone truly living an amazing awesome life wouldn't have time to advertise it on Facebook. But it might be that I have a different definition of such a life.

I have yet to see Steve Jobs or Sergei Brin contribute to HN ;)

No, we just don't use our own names.

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#73

Post by pathik » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 5:10 AM UTC

Currently #4, hoping to be #2 soon and then #3.

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#74

Post by kin » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 6:05 AM UTC

I once spoke to an industry veteran when I was still in college and his advice rings to me real well. He said that it's very easy to just work for the man coming out of college. In our particular market, it's easy to follow recruiting strategies and land a job working for the man and getting comfortable.

While you're young, you can afford to take the risk of joining a startup or one on your own. Furthermore, by joining a startup, in a way, your presence at the startup reduces their risk of failure.

That was just advice and I currently work for the man. Fortunately I'm really happy where I am and I do work on things on the side.

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#75

Post by cycojesus » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 6:37 AM UTC

Unemployed. Seemingly unemployable as a foreigner here in Vietnam. Thinking about freelancing but I don't really know where/how to start. Meanwhile helping my wife's café by renovating its website @ http://www.lollybooks.com (is it against the rules to link that here?)

(sorry if the down feeling is perceptible, not in the best mood...)

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#76

Post by Stormbringer » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 8:03 AM UTC

I don't work for the man, I work for the money. :-P

If I didn't get paid, it would be a hobby.

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#77

Post by SimonPStevens » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 8:30 AM UTC

Right now I'm employed. But I handed my resignation in yesterday to go freelance, and I aim to eventually build a company. I've wanted to do it for a long time, but HN played at least a part in giving me the confidence to try it.

http://www.simonpstevens.com/News/GoingFreelance

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#78

Post by gersh » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 9:12 AM UTC

mgkimsal wrote: post #3

"owner of your own company" and "a freelancer" are really the same for many people.

I'd distinguish between consulting and a product company. Product companies license software, sell physical goods, or off-the-shelf goods. Consulting companies sell time to their customer's requirements. They may do fixed-bid work, but the client writes the specs, possibly with help.

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#79

Post by atlantic » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 9:21 AM UTC

dawgr wrote: post #25

I'd like to ask to anyone who has worked as both, for himself and for the man, which one is more stressful? To the degree that this question can be answered, I realize it would depend a lot on the exact job and that it's not black and white.

I'd say that working for myself is more stressful. There are absolutely no excuses not to deliver quality work on time. Sometimes I find myself working through the night to meet a deadline, something I would never have done when I was regularly employed.

Nevertheless, there is a lot of satisfaction to selecting and organizing your own projects, and having freelanced for a year, I don't think I will be going back to salaried work.

Re: Poll: Do you work for "the Man"?

#80

Post by xiaoma » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 10:41 AM UTC

none of the above

After leaving a small business in Taiwan due to poor fit with partners, I moved to Beijing last year and haven't worked since. I've tried to teach myself how to write flash games, but with little sense of real progress, my motivation has been sporadic. So... I'm just decompressing. After years of working far more than full-time and putting my heart and soul into a business that generated less than what salaried work in a western country would have, I'm slowly recovering and trying to learn new skills. Anyone who didn't know me before the past 9 months or so would think I was an amazingly lazy person.