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Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

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Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#51

Post by PragmaticPulp »

pawelwentpawel wrote: post #39
niemenmaa wrote: post #24

Before pandemic I started working remotely and soon noticed that, like OP, working alone doesn't suit me. I solved this by joining a co-working hub that offers offices to remote workers / entrepreneurs. My employer pays for the hub membership. I drive to our offices around once a month, but rest of the time I sit in a room with an accountant and gym owner. They are fun to chat and go to lunch with but they don't inte…

This is an excellent example of the difference between "working from home" and "working remotely". Those two terms unfortunately are used interchangeably as synonyms.

It’s because 99% or more of remote workers are working from home.

Coworkers spaces are basically micro remote offices for 1. Much of the remote discourse has been about avoiding offices and commutes altogether, not replacing it with a different micro office that you commute to alone.

It’s reasonable to assume that remote and work from home are the same thing unless someone explicitly says they’re working in a satellite coworking soave.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#52

Post by PragmaticPulp »

sdevonoes wrote: post #42

Don't get it. Even if remote is becoming more common, the vast majority of tech jobs out there are not 100% remote. Note: a lot of companies are advertising themselves as "100% remote while corona lasts" though.

Agreed. I think the OP might be reading too much into HN comments and headlines. Remote work is nowhere near as ubiquitous as HN likes to suggest.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#53

Post by rzzzt »

antoinealb wrote: post #16
drakonka wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious: how much do you end up spending on coffee while at the coffee shop, and in how many hours? I find sitting in a coffee shop with a laptop comes with the expectation that you'll keep buying coffee, food, _something_ at regular intervals (which of course makes sense). The accepted intervals tend to vary between coffee shops. I was also thinking of working from coffee shops more at some point, but then I won…

When I visited Paris a few months ago, I found a coffee shop that was specifically targeting people who wanted a place to work, and turned the business model upside down: instead of selling you drinks, and you getting the place for free, they would bill you by the hour, and the drinks were free (and good!). Of course, that means you get to stay as long as you want, no questions asked. The prices were 5€/h or 24€/day,…

With an average price of 2.5€/coffee (just DDG-d it)... I couldn't drink that much coffee over the course of a day.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#55

Post by PragmaticPulp »

bfung wrote: post #14

> Are those days just over? Depending on your job function and industry. For tech, yes, those days are over for at least for another 5 to 10 years, is my guess. COVID has generally proven to both employers and employees that productivity doesn't drop that much. It will also weed out bad people managers who need to "see" people physically who need to "get a feel" as a management metric. The only major factor that woul…

> COVID has generally proven to both employers and employees that productivity doesn't drop that much.

I know this is the popular sentiment pushed by remote work fans, but in offline contexts I hear the polar opposite: Productivity struggles are ubiquitous during COVID WFH.

Even the most pro-remote people are quick to admit that COVID WFH is not like normal WFH. Some places even had school closures which meant parents were juggling kids schooling and their jobs. Maybe you worked in a company that didn’t have a lot of employees with these problems, but it has been a significant challenge for many people and companies in the past year and a half.

I managed remote teams long before COVID and even I wouldn’t ever suggest that remote has no effect on productivity. Remote is hard and I’d even say that most people aren’t cut out for it, at least not without significant mentoring and additional management attention.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#56

Post by emteycz »

keraf wrote: post #18
drakonka wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious: how much do you end up spending on coffee while at the coffee shop, and in how many hours? I find sitting in a coffee shop with a laptop comes with the expectation that you'll keep buying coffee, food, _something_ at regular intervals (which of course makes sense). The accepted intervals tend to vary between coffee shops. I was also thinking of working from coffee shops more at some point, but then I won…

I would say I usually spend around 7€ for an entire day. But there's a mix of common sense and also agreement with the barista. I will generally consume more or leave if the coffee shop gets really busy, or change my seat to the least used one (next to the noisy coffee machine). The baristas also think I'm good company, so that also plays in favour of me staying longer without consuming excessively. And from time to…

Also in Prague, which cafés do you like?

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#57

Post by PragmaticPulp »

fer wrote: post #12

Strangely enough, I can't find a remote job (EU). Since the pandemic started I had about 10 solid offers BUT they did bait-and-switch to 1-2 days a week on-site, and I just find a PITA to move my family to get crumbs of remoteness. The ones I'm sure are fully remote tend to only like candidates who are 100% match, as the pool for remote is much bigger.

> Strangely enough, I can't find a remote job (EU).

If it’s any consolation, that’s not strange at all. Full remote jobs are actually very rare still, despite all of the headlines and comments suggesting that office work has been ended by COVID.

In-office or partial in-office is still the norm for the vast majority of jobs.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#58

Post by ever1 »

xwolfi wrote: post #49
vladvasiliu wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it also depends a lot on location and its prevalent culture. Over here in France, most French companies (as opposed to US companies operating here) have to be dragged kicking and screaming into WfH arrangements. Ever since the pandemic started picking back up steam this autumn, the government was "encouraging" companies to allow people to work from home, but there were no firm directives. Most companies figur…

Yeah but then you have to work with French people, which is a tradeoff I wouldnt do anymore, as a French myself :p

Why is that ?

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#59

Post by _Wintermute »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #35
bfung wrote: post #14

> Are those days just over? Depending on your job function and industry. For tech, yes, those days are over for at least for another 5 to 10 years, is my guess. COVID has generally proven to both employers and employees that productivity doesn't drop that much. It will also weed out bad people managers who need to "see" people physically who need to "get a feel" as a management metric. The only major factor that woul…

I'd say it also depends a lot on location and its prevalent culture. Over here in France, most French companies (as opposed to US companies operating here) have to be dragged kicking and screaming into WfH arrangements. Ever since the pandemic started picking back up steam this autumn, the government was "encouraging" companies to allow people to work from home, but there were no firm directives. Most companies figur…

I was working in France at the start of the pandemic, only managers had access to the corporate VPN. When we were forced to WFH in the first lockdown we had to email our manager (who had VPN access) each time we wanted to access or save a file and send it as an attachment. This worked about as well you as would expect, and they were in the process of trying to drag everyone back into the office as an essential worker when I left.
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