A friend once told me that if you are consulting, you are actually doing three jobs:
* finding the work
* doing the work
* getting paid for the work
Most folks in tech focus on "doing the work" but fail to realize that there is just as much nuance, skill, and specialization in steps 1 and 3.
I have consulted/contracted for about 1/2 my career. Highly recommend it to anyone to appreciate what a stable job at an employer is worth, as well as for education and upskilling. (Wrote more here on the value of contracting: https://letterstoanewdeveloper.com/2018/11/12/try-contractin... )
But go into this adventure with your eyes wide open about the difficulties of running business, as well as the prize for winning--to simplify, it is more and more sales, less and less coding.
Having also had this adventure, note that #1 and #2 are both full time jobs, and #3 can be when #1 vets poorly or #2 fails to get the job done on time and on target (and sometimes effectively at random).
Still my favorite way to play, but you have to have time, talent, and interest in 2-3 disparate, full-time jobs.
Edit: having read parent's article, absolutely agreed on the last point: Sales is hard. Not because selling things to people is inherently hard, but because it requires a long-term commitment to relationship and network building to find the people (you don't sell to companies) who are willing and able to purchase your services. Fail to keep that funnel full, and #2 and #3 no longer have a job.
> Still my favorite way to play, but you have to have time, talent, and interest in 2-3 disparate, full-time jobs.
Not sure they are full-time all the time, but definitely to be a one-person show you have to have or acquire skills in all of these.
One of my favorite things about my time consulting is how sharp it makes you. Sharp about tech, sharp about listening to customers, sharp about keeping your network alive, sharp about meeting and keeping in touch with new people.
So easy as an employee to dive into the company and not look around for years.
A title is not enough to support a conclusion. Here’s another title for you: “If you need money, why not win the lottery”.
The answer to both is the same: “it’s not that simple”.
You can’t simply “create a job” and start earning money, especially if you want to do it ethically and don’t have a safety net or an established audience.
You aren't going to create a job at some company, so you have to work as a freelancer or found a company. Both of these are very risky and seem very non-advisable if you lack the skills to even find work at some company.
To be treated better, support biz that aren't in your field. My law/med/auto clients always treated me well. My tech-ish clients (geothermal/web retail) treat me well. An IT firm is more likely to see me as a cog.
I found local work thru local biz orgs like the Chamber of Commerce. I once joined BNI for a year (search it) and still have recurring business from that.
How I got here: The barrier to employment (in my market) was unnecessarily difficult (it still is).
I applied for jobs while seeking clients. For me, the latter was a less onerous & more productive process. I found clients to be more reasonable than employers.
Sometimes a client would eventually hire me, mostly in the same capacity. They were flexible and I still maintained my other customers.
Not sure what "tech" would constitute here.
I've never ran a company before, but I would assume creating a company has a massive barrier to entry compared to working in tech. There are employees, legal, payroll, HR, and other such hurdles before you can even think about starting a tech company, not to mention the personal toll it'll take.
The ego is the biggest stumbling block! So are bad habits!
Anyone can do it, and increasingly I believe creating a company is actually really, really easy. The monster difficulty is the battle with the self to not procrastinate, to dream big, to be courageous, to take risks, to avoid giving up when encountering difficulties.
>the monster difficulty is the battle with the self to not procrastinate, to dream big, to be courageous, to take risks, to avoid giving up when encountering difficulties
* finding the work
* doing the work
* getting paid for the work
Most folks in tech focus on "doing the work" but fail to realize that there is just as much nuance, skill, and specialization in steps 1 and 3.
I have consulted/contracted for about 1/2 my career. Highly recommend it to anyone to appreciate what a stable job at an employer is worth, as well as for education and upskilling. (Wrote more here on the value of contracting: https://letterstoanewdeveloper.com/2018/11/12/try-contractin... )
But go into this adventure with your eyes wide open about the difficulties of running business, as well as the prize for winning--to simplify, it is more and more sales, less and less coding.