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Working alone sucks

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Re: Working alone sucks

#61

Post by svachalek »

jasonkester wrote: post #49

I met a girl at a party once, and she said something really interesting when I mentioned that I wrote software for a living. "I could never do that", she said. "I could never sit alone all day, staring at a computer and never getting the chance to talk to anybody. It'd be my worst nightmare." I hadn't ever thought about it like that. Naturally, as a developer, I think I have the greatest job there is. Where else coul…

That image of working alone at a computer all day is a long way from the truth at a lot of companies; typically the bigger the company the more time you spend in meetings, and at many that ends up being half your day or more. That isn't particularly more anti-social than marketing or accounting, where you'll find a lot more women. Not to mention places that do all pair programming, all the time.

Re: Working alone sucks

#62

Post by sbrother »

mgkimsal wrote: post #54
jasonkester wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

^ number pulled from butt for the purposes of comedic exaggeration. But doing a quick order of magnitude check, it's not off by much: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income In the US, that says median income is ~$31k. You'd be 10x'ing that with a $150/hr consulting rate, which is by no means outrageous.

not completely outrageous, although most of the people I know that are billing >= $150/hr aren't billing 2000 hours/year. Actually, even most of the hourly consultants I know that work for themselves aren't billable that often - usually 1000-1200 billable hours between most of the independent IT/tech people I know. Still, even at $75/hour, you're still 2-3x what a lot of people are making, and it's generally only up…

Exactly. But that's one of the best parts of software development in my opinion - you can make 3x the median income while living wherever you like and working 20 hours a week (i.e. having time for side projects, or kids)

Re: Working alone sucks

#63

Post by bluethunder »

I have been in a similar situation and also read a bit of psychology and the inescapable conclusion that I have come to is that this is exactly why you need a cofounder.

Humans crave regular 'peer' level feedback and gratification - this is an evolutionary trait and is extremely critical for your happiness which is in turn critical for optimal work performance. Almost anyone who feels otherwise is wrong.

The key point is that even if your startup is doing well and making tons of money you will still not be happy because of the lack of 'peer' level feedback. So in that sense getting a co-founder is a bigger objective than making your startup profitable.

The only other two options are:

1. Your company grows real fast and you are able to hire a couple of CXO's. This might take a long time and its not really in your control.

2. Raise funds and hire a couple of peer level CXO's - this is easier said than done as premature scaling is the number one cause of startup mortality even assuming that you can raise funding in the first place.

The good part is that if you understand this simple fact, you can start figuring out a solution which I guess you have already begin.

Re: Working alone sucks

#64

Post by sbrother »

One word: coworking! As a freelance developer I struggled with this for a while (getting depressed working at home, and getting tired of reduced productivity at cafes) until I joined a good coworking space. I realized that while working alone wears me down, I wouldn't trade working for myself for anything, and being around a group of people who feel the same way is awesome.

For me at least, coworking is better than working at home in every way I've considered. I'm much more productive, it's not as isolating socially, and professionally I've even found new contracts through people I've met coworking.

Re: Working alone sucks

#65

Post by contemplative1 »

trafficlight wrote: post #35
forgottenpaswrd wrote: post #29

Working alone sucks(if you are extroverted). I had the opposite problem, I started working in sales with tons of people. I had no time for myself, meditation, solitude or thinking, just meeting people or being interrupted on the phone constantly. People could not understand that I wanted time for myself(most of the human population is extroverted). It was great for some people, but not for me. Now I work(at home) in…

I'm definitely introverted, but sometimes I do find it helpful to be around other people while working. Which is why I'm starting a coworking space in my hometown.

Have you found any pitfalls trying to start a co-working space where there's a lack of an existing community? Did you do much research?

Re: Working alone sucks

#66

Post by lsdafjklsd »

thirtysixred wrote: post #43
lsdafjklsd wrote: post #34

I have never had a real life developer friend or someone to talk to. I got my BFA in illustration in 2010 and decided to get back into web development (I got an associates in digital media 3 years prior and was into web development in high school). So the landscape of development had changed a ton, I stumbled on to middleman and SASS.. so I was getting acquainted with modern tools and techniques. Then I was lucky eno…

If you're close to the Portsmouth area check out: http://alphaloft.com . They have regular talks and meet ups. You could always head over to Boston there's a ton of web development stuff happening there and regular meet ups.

Wow alpha loft is an amazing resource, thanks!

Re: Working alone sucks

#67

Post by Spooky23 »

jasonkester wrote: post #49

I met a girl at a party once, and she said something really interesting when I mentioned that I wrote software for a living. "I could never do that", she said. "I could never sit alone all day, staring at a computer and never getting the chance to talk to anybody. It'd be my worst nightmare." I hadn't ever thought about it like that. Naturally, as a developer, I think I have the greatest job there is. Where else coul…

The key difference is that the author is a CEO. His job is setting direction and talking to people.

In any organization that I've worked in the CEO/Managing Director/Commissioner is a person who spends 6-10 hours a day in meetings. Talking to customers, internal stakeholders, random external people, the board, etc. I couldn't imagine doing that work over email.

Re: Working alone sucks

#68

Post by contemplative1 »

Isolation doesn't matter if you're absorbed in your work since your work is your world. If work stagnates (a project, a startup or a job) that's when it's felt.

The trick is to always love what you do and to feel part of something whether it's guaranteed to succeed or not.

I'm finding this out slowly.

Re: Working alone sucks

#69

Post by rsobers »

> I should emphasize that it is not physically being alone (i.e., not enough contact with other people) that bothers me, it is the lack of peer-level teamwork towards a common goal that I lack.

I wonder if Roger Federer feels that way?

Re: Working alone sucks

#70

Post by zeroonetwothree »

mgkimsal wrote: post #51
jasonkester wrote: post #49

I met a girl at a party once, and she said something really interesting when I mentioned that I wrote software for a living. "I could never do that", she said. "I could never sit alone all day, staring at a computer and never getting the chance to talk to anybody. It'd be my worst nightmare." I hadn't ever thought about it like that. Naturally, as a developer, I think I have the greatest job there is. Where else coul…

14x? Where are you living? I understand software developers generally make more than the average, but I've not heard of too many people making 14x (in the US).

Maybe the OP meant the median world income, which is around $10k/yr.
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