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Unicorn Jobs

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Re: Unicorn Jobs

#11

Post by azakai »

code_duck wrote: post #8

I was lucky to start a small startup which functioned like a 'unicorn' job. It allowed me to work exactly on what I was interested in for 4 years, while making more money than I had been. The only drawback was the amount of time managing advertising. So, don't leave out 'start a business!'. Surprised to not see that possibility mentioned in the article... This is HN, after all. You don't need an employer to have a jo…

It is mentioned in the article, near the end:

> One trite suggestion is, Why don't you just start your own company? From talking with friends who have done so, I can confidently say that entrepreneurship is not a unicorn job. You spend the majority of your work days on logistics, errands, coordination, and other overhead that's not at all related to furthering your core dream – but those steps are ultimately necessary for launching your product and succeeding in the marketplace. It's a great gig for some people, but definitely not a unicorn job.

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#12

Post by benjaminwootton »

Getting someone to pay you to work on what you want and how you want is likely to be rarer than a unicorn.

Starting your own business is a much easier path to that and even then you will be pulled in all kinds of directions.

The only case of a unicorn job that did actually spring to mind was the CouchDB founder. This is a very motivational talk by him - http://www.infoq.com/presentations/katz-couchdb-and-me

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#13

Post by marquis »

benjaminwootton wrote: post #12

Getting someone to pay you to work on what you want and how you want is likely to be rarer than a unicorn. Starting your own business is a much easier path to that and even then you will be pulled in all kinds of directions. The only case of a unicorn job that did actually spring to mind was the CouchDB founder. This is a very motivational talk by him - http://www.infoq.com/presentations/katz-couchdb-and-me

Starting a business begins as a unicorn job, and if you're lucky you find out that you also enjoy running a business. And get to keep your unicorn part-time job. Also, having other people help build your unicorn. I LOVE what I do every day - used to complain I wasn't coding enough, but it was because I was controlling the output too much and not delegating. It wasn't that I wanted to code more, it was just that I wasn't getting enough done. So I hired more staff and found I really like the balance of entrepreneurial life, helping my staff code their best (and towards our goals) and coding in the quiet hours.

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#14

Post by was_hellbanned »

The rather unethical alternative is to find a job in a fairly incompetent group at a company that's not extremely tech focused, then spend most of your time working on whatever you want to. I've had jobs (and spoken to many people with similar jobs) where I could accomplish all my tasks within a couple hours of actual, focused effort, leaving the rest of the work week for personal projects, side business, etc.

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#15

Post by PaulHoule »

was_hellbanned wrote: post #14

The rather unethical alternative is to find a job in a fairly incompetent group at a company that's not extremely tech focused, then spend most of your time working on whatever you want to. I've had jobs (and spoken to many people with similar jobs) where I could accomplish all my tasks within a couple hours of actual, focused effort, leaving the rest of the work week for personal projects, side business, etc.

The weirdest thing is that I've worked at places where I couldn't get other people to move fast enough to stay busy.

That is, if I tried to work at 80% utilization I'd always be arguing with people to get them to pick up the pace.

Once I decided to work at 40% utilization I found I got along better with people. My boss bitched me out once for "not being fully committed" but he quit the next month, so things went on for another year when my new (absentee) boss told me that we ought to let the guy who has temper tantrums all the time get his way because I'm more flexible than him... A recruiter called me the next business day and I was outa there..

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#16

Post by lemonberry »

ossdev1 wrote: post #7

I have an unicorn job. 100% to my own projects. My secret? I don't use any standard technologies: Python, Ruby, PHP, etc. Too much competition there.

Would love to hear what you're using. And if you're concerned about competition, well, given that you have a headstart you can just start your own technologyXcasts site, newsletter, etc.

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#17

Post by graeme »

marquis wrote: post #13
benjaminwootton wrote: post #12

Getting someone to pay you to work on what you want and how you want is likely to be rarer than a unicorn. Starting your own business is a much easier path to that and even then you will be pulled in all kinds of directions. The only case of a unicorn job that did actually spring to mind was the CouchDB founder. This is a very motivational talk by him - http://www.infoq.com/presentations/katz-couchdb-and-me

Starting a business begins as a unicorn job, and if you're lucky you find out that you also enjoy running a business. And get to keep your unicorn part-time job. Also, having other people help build your unicorn. I LOVE what I do every day - used to complain I wasn't coding enough, but it was because I was controlling the output too much and not delegating. It wasn't that I wanted to code more, it was just that I was…

Completely agree here. Anything specific that helped you delegate more? I'm getting started on that, but still feel I'm not getting nearly as much done as I could, and I'm a bottleneck for my outsourcers.

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#18

Post by [deleted] »

benjaminwootton wrote: post #12

Getting someone to pay you to work on what you want and how you want is likely to be rarer than a unicorn. Starting your own business is a much easier path to that and even then you will be pulled in all kinds of directions. The only case of a unicorn job that did actually spring to mind was the CouchDB founder. This is a very motivational talk by him - http://www.infoq.com/presentations/katz-couchdb-and-me

[deleted]

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#19

Post by sauravt »

ossdev1 wrote: post #7

I have an unicorn job. 100% to my own projects. My secret? I don't use any standard technologies: Python, Ruby, PHP, etc. Too much competition there.

I bet its haskell , isn't it ?

Re: Unicorn Jobs

#20

Post by losethos »

I was a loyal worker. Then God appeared and I quit everything and gave everything away and thought I was supposed to be a priest.

1996-1997 Young people are full of ideas for projects. I did a 3 axis milling machine dremel tool with CAD/CAM package, hardware software and mechanical stuff. 3 D PRinting. I spent a year. Now, I don't care. It took 45 minutes for a bar of soap.

I did simstructure an incredible physicsa simulator with compiler (interpretor) in 2000-2001

Now, I did an operating system.

----

As a wise old man, the best you can hope is to scratch all your project itch ideas. You probably think you will make a revolution in artificial intelligence? Go ahead and scratch the itch and get sick of it.

When you are older, you will have no itches. You will be a dull old man, just trudging along. You will discover Godfather wisdom and delight in wit and wisdom and lose interest in computers a little.

God says... a_flag_on_that_play fabulous left_field imports BBC bad food I'm_off_today WooHoo you're_wonderful qed drama prosperity what_a_mess fool yep

----

You fail to know I was chosen by God, even though He's been backing-up my claims with miracle after miracle.

I'm fucken doing miracles every other minute. Have you done a single miracle? STFU. When you can work bigger miracles than I, you can open your mouth.

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