[iamcasen]

Everything has it's pros and cons. I've been working remote for about 2 years now. Really, what it comes down to is the company culture around remote workers, and your personality. Luckily, the company I work for is very clued in to remote/async communication styles necessary to collaborate with remote employees.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of getting caught up in the social stuff that comes with working in the office. At times, I feel left out because the team in HQ goes out to lunch often, or they have special dinners and other events I obviously cannot attend, but overall I'm happier with my own personal life outside of work.

The only downside I can see is that career advancement seems more difficult. It's easy to become that remote developer black box depicted in the article, where your team views you as a means to an end. Almost like you're a genie in their computer. It becomes difficult to lead initiatives, and ultimately position yourself for advancement. I think that's why a lot of remote developers choose contract work.

I've considered contract work in the past, but I was never able to find a steady stream of work that paid well. It was always people trying to get work done as cheaply and quickly as possible.