[talkingtab]

Your question is wrong. Your goal should not to be employable, 'get gigs'. We live in a time where the job market is shrinking, jobs are fewer, more applicants, lower wages, etc.

If you rely on employers for your livelihood you are buying a lottery ticket where the payout is smaller and less frequent. If you are a "follower" you have no choice. But if you can think your way out of a paper bag use that skill and start doing it.

Companies are in no-risk mode to a very large extent. They are very safety oriented. Perhaps Dinosaur Mode is the correct term. They hire followers, they are run by followers. So start finding obvious stupidities and fix them. We are so used to doing things the normal way that we no longer even pay attention to what we are doing.

I'm not saying quit your day job (if you have one) I am saying start a side gig. Start your side gig. And a hint if you need one - There are two very very big things missing from the internet. One is trust. The other is the ability for common people to form communities. Not follow people, but collectively think and work together. Read all the comment about why we don't and can't have these. Then go the other direction. :-)

So specific advice. Focus on you ability to be effective at accomplishing things. Any technology that lets you build your side gig. And if you can't find the technology to do that, then maybe that is your side gig.

[amw-zero]

Laughably bad advice.

What's the failure rate of startups - 90%? This is less risky than a slightly crowded job market where there's still millions of jobs?

[voisin]

OP’s advice could equally apply to consulting.

[pseudocomposer]

I’ve actually built and AGPLed my side gig, which correlates pretty closely to what you described here:

https://github.com/JonLatane/jonline

Personal/Demo server (links to/includes data from the other two servers automatically): https://jonline.io

Servers for Durham, NC and Raleigh, NC (link to each other only): https://bullcity.social and https://oakcity.social

But um… how make money with it? I’m paying $60/mo for these 3 servers (and can bring it down to $40), and really stuck on how to monetize and get people using it.

[mindcrime]

No Chapel Hill?

I feel excluded. :-(

[pseudocomposer]

I’m actually a UNC grad so it breaks my heart too :-(

It’s really because (1) it costs $14/mo to add an instance currently (though my aforementioned cost saving measure can bring it down to $1/mo), and (2) I’m not sure whether to register https://tarheel.social, https://chapelboro.social, or what really. Each has specific connotations and it’s a bit weird with a college town (while Raleigh and Durham are more diverse cities).

If you’d be interested in partnering and standing an instance up, it’s AGPLed for exactly this reason :-) Feel free to DM me on Insta (@jons_difficult_truths), contact me via my GitHub above, or just reply here with your preferred medium if you’d be interested in talking about it over coffee/drinks!

[mindcrime]

Awesome. I'll give you a shout.

[bongodongobob]

Lol "work 2 jobs". Great advice.

My advice is work for a big company and put in your 40 and no more if possible. Ride that to retirement.

Or grind your ass off for a decade with minimal returns and possible ruin.

[mindcrime]

My advice is work for a big company and put in your 40 and no more if possible. Ride that to retirement. Or grind your ass off for a decade with minimal returns and possible ruin.

Yes, those are the ONLY two possible outcomes.

Fallacy of the Excluded Middle much?