Quit the 9-5 and go remote?

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purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,024
5,905
126
Ah, gotcha. My boss is in MD.
I've talked to companies that are in NY, CA, and WA. I came close to landing jobs but they ended up passing.

When I've been even looking for jobs, it's typically companies that are HQ'd in those areas since the salaries are higher there, and being where I live with a high cost of living, they understand that.
 

njdevilsfan87

Platinum Member
Apr 19, 2007
2,331
251
126
Can you work remotely for 3 days of the week, and be onsite for 2? If you could, you'd only need a room near your job for one night of week. The only big catch here might be being away from the family for 36 hours a week. But that would still be less than the 40+ you already are, and you'd live where you want.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
68,459
12,613
126
www.anyf.ca
I think about it all the time, problem is there arn't really any remote jobs here.

One thing that's making me consider is the fact that taxes here are too high, and so are most other costs of living. I'd love to buy land in the bush in an unorganized township (more FREEDOM and less taxes) and just build a nice house/cabin and live there, semi off grid. Generate my own power, heat, and being in a low tax area, would mean costs of living would be WAY lower than they are in a city, even a small one.

But still need a source of income nonetheless, there would still be some monthly costs like insurance, and there's still SOME taxes, and need groceries etc too, and of course one time purchases like toys, repairs to infrastructure like well, septic, power etc and what not.

So if I were to do it, I'd want to find some kind of online gig. Youtube or something like that. Hard to really make it big with anything like that though.

That said, my current situation is kind of a between. I live in a small city, so not exactly that far from nature, and it's a fairly laid back environment compared to say, the GTA where it's crazy hustle and bustle. Costs of living are not as high as the GTA (But still high) and there's not much pollution etc. Nice to be able to own a house AND be 5 minutes from work too. So I think I just need to keep what I have and be lucky I'm not in the GTA or other big city environment. I can see stars, moon, sometimes even Mars from my bedroom window, I don't think too many big city dwellers can say that. Sometimes even catch the northern lights from the end of my drive way.

So my goal is to pretty much just stick here for now, but when I retire, or if I win the lotto, totally want some off grid land and live there.
 

Tweak155

Lifer
Sep 23, 2003
11,448
262
126
I worked remote for 3yrs and once that was over, I decided I would not do it full time again. You definitely end up in that "silo" as you put it, I don't think it is avoidable given enough time. However, some people are OK with that... doesn't sound like that is your thing though.

The salary though I think is manageable, just gotta look for a while maybe if you want a 9-5. I think ultimately if you manged to work on your own thing, you could rely on your own motivation. I did a home business for a couple years and I was never out of work and it almost entirely relied on me (or the wife)... could be rewarding.
 

DietDrThunder

Platinum Member
Apr 6, 2001
2,262
326
126
One question that is related but off topic. I know this is more of a saying, but do any of you with full time jobs actually work 9 to 5 (another words an 8 hour day with a 1 hour lunch) ? I'm usually at work at 6:45am and don't leave until 5:30 or 6pm.

I did try telecommuting for 6 months a couple of years ago, but it didn't work very well.
1) Remote connection problems to the build server.
2) Flaky remote connection to the server with the git repository.
3) Very difficult to help co-workers with their buggy code.
4) And the worst problem, out of sight, out of mind. You are not physically there so people forget to include you in email correspondence, teleconferences, and even though the work was being completed on or ahead of schedule, I had one manager forget I even worked there (and he was the one that approved my paychecks). Needless to say this affected my pay raise.

After that sucky pay raise, I gave up telecommuting.
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
106
I worked remote for 3yrs and once that was over, I decided I would not do it full time again. You definitely end up in that "silo" as you put it, I don't think it is avoidable given enough time. However, some people are OK with that... doesn't sound like that is your thing though.

The salary though I think is manageable, just gotta look for a while maybe if you want a 9-5. I think ultimately if you manged to work on your own thing, you could rely on your own motivation. I did a home business for a couple years and I was never out of work and it almost entirely relied on me (or the wife)... could be rewarding.

The silo thing definitely worries me from past experience. There is actually a possibility of a side business with a friend up there that could turn into something more...but I don’t like to jump out on a limb like that...so it will definitely be a side thing until/if it grows into something more.
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
106
One question that is related but off topic. I know this is more of a saying, but do any of you with full time jobs actually work 9 to 5 (another words an 8 hour day with a 1 hour lunch) ? I'm usually at work at 6:45am and don't leave until 5:30 or 6pm.

I did try telecommuting for 6 months a couple of years ago, but it didn't work very well.
1) Remote connection problems to the build server.
2) Flaky remote connection to the server with the git repository.
3) Very difficult to help co-workers with their buggy code.
4) And the worst problem, out of sight, out of mind. You are not physically there so people forget to include you in email correspondence, teleconferences, and even though the work was being completed on or ahead of schedule, I had one manager forget I even worked there (and he was the one that approved my paychecks). Needless to say this affected my pay raise.

After that sucky pay raise, I gave up telecommuting.

I actually do only work a 8hr day and I’ve been lucky enough to maintain that at my last two companies without it affecting my corporate climb. Usually in by 6:15, out by 3:00. 30-40 min lunch/fraternizing.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,024
5,905
126
One question that is related but off topic. I know this is more of a saying, but do any of you with full time jobs actually work 9 to 5 (another words an 8 hour day with a 1 hour lunch) ? I'm usually at work at 6:45am and don't leave until 5:30 or 6pm.
I don't. I usually get in between 6am and 6:30am and leave between 2pm and 2:15 regardless if I eat lunch at work or not
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
106
My wife and I discussed another option last night. Possibly moving further into the mountains (Evergreen) without full commit to a mountain town (Steamboat). That way I still can commute if needed. Also, my current company (and others) are more likely to let me work remote a couple of times a week at my level. Might be a good compromise. Side benefit is that we could probably keep our other two places (Denver for rental income, Steamboat condo for pleasure/Airbnb (current usage) as my salary should support it.

Just not sure about that commute.
 

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
4,701
3,727
136
One question that is related but off topic. I know this is more of a saying, but do any of you with full time jobs actually work 9 to 5 (another words an 8 hour day with a 1 hour lunch) ? I'm usually at work at 6:45am and don't leave until 5:30 or 6pm.

I don't even work 8 hours :rolleyes: 0830-9 to 1530-1600. Usually eat a quick lunch at my desk and take a 45 minute gym break three days a week. I keep meetings to a minimum and just try to stay productive throughout the day. It's more than enough time to get a whole lot of work done.
 
Nov 8, 2012
20,828
4,777
146
I don't even work 8 hours :rolleyes: 0830-9 to 1530-1600. Usually eat a quick lunch at my desk and take a 45 minute gym break three days a week. I keep meetings to a minimum and just try to stay productive throughout the day. It's more than enough time to get a whole lot of work done.
So you lie on your time card every week? o_O
 

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
4,701
3,727
136
My wife and I discussed another option last night. Possibly moving further into the mountains (Evergreen) without full commit to a mountain town (Steamboat). That way I still can commute if needed. Also, my current company (and others) are more likely to let me work remote a couple of times a week at my level. Might be a good compromise. Side benefit is that we could probably keep our other two places (Denver for rental income, Steamboat condo for pleasure/Airbnb (current usage) as my salary should support it.

Just not sure about that commute.

My GF and I stayed at an Airbnb in Evergreen when we visited CO a couple years back. We wanted to pack up and move to that town right then and there. Close to cities and still nestled in the mountains, and what seemed like a very cool smaller but progressive town vibe.

Maybe you could find a fun twisty route for your commute so you look forward to it rather than dread it :D
 

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
4,701
3,727
136
Am I not getting the joke? Every job I've had has a time card for you to designate your PTO time, worked time, holiday time, etc.

No time card and nobody cares about hours. It's becoming more common in engineering/tech. Nobody really works more than 40 hours unless they goof off all day and have to stay late to do their work. Performance evaluations are based on actual performance though, not butt in seat time.

I think it's a much more positive paradigm and I hope it continues to spread. Many of my classmates in college liked to complain about the excessive workload in engineering school ... but their "working" time was hanging out in a group and not concentrating, so of course their work took forever, and they didn't learn it as well either. There are people like that here and they end up working 40 hrs or more. It's fairly easy to do the same amount of work and often more in 6 hours with full concentration IF you know nobody is counting your hours and you can go home when you're done.

Speaking of which, maybe I should get off ATOT :rolleyes:
 
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PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
106
My GF and I stayed at an Airbnb in Evergreen when we visited CO a couple years back. We wanted to pack up and move to that town right then and there. Close to cities and still nestled in the mountains, and what seemed like a very cool smaller but progressive town vibe.

Maybe you could find a fun twisty route for your commute so you look forward to it rather than dread it :D

Yeah...Evergreen is a nice little town. Schools are top notch. Still a bit busy...but much less then Denver and still have all the amenities of Denver close by (my sister and her family, downtown, Red Rocks...a big one, jobs, shopping, etc).

That commute is daunting...but as you said...at least part of it I would enjoy.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
One question that is related but off topic. I know this is more of a saying, but do any of you with full time jobs actually work 9 to 5 (another words an 8 hour day with a 1 hour lunch) ? I'm usually at work at 6:45am and don't leave until 5:30 or 6pm.

I did try telecommuting for 6 months a couple of years ago, but it didn't work very well.
1) Remote connection problems to the build server.
2) Flaky remote connection to the server with the git repository.
3) Very difficult to help co-workers with their buggy code.
4) And the worst problem, out of sight, out of mind. You are not physically there so people forget to include you in email correspondence, teleconferences, and even though the work was being completed on or ahead of schedule, I had one manager forget I even worked there (and he was the one that approved my paychecks). Needless to say this affected my pay raise.

After that sucky pay raise, I gave up telecommuting.

All of that is mostly employer dependent. My entire team works remotely 100% so 'out of site/out of mind' isn't really an issue. When I first started there 8 years ago the VPN stuff was indeed flakey, and while today it can be a bit slow at times, it rarely has an issue and MANY more people in the company work remotely than then. We utilize screen shares/conference calls quite often both within the business and with vendors and we've been doing it long enough the process for the most part is seamless. The thing with our company is though that at any given time you are working directly with people all over the world - so time zones really don't mean anything and being face/face is difficult. The worst culprit at this point though is they switched to Skype which is a buggy mess and for some reason rarely works when you need it to.

As for hours...that's an issue in any tech job regardless if you telecommute or not. Our company has slowly tried rolling out 'follow the sun' etc, but since the bulk of their best subject experts are in the US and attend all the planning meetings, we still get pulled into the major stuff off hours. Fortunately we do get paid overtime (they switched it 3 years ago). While it is nice on the wallet it does get out of hand at times.
 

Zeze

Lifer
Mar 4, 2011
11,395
1,180
126
I haven't read all, but how guaranteed is this WFH. Company policies change all the time. I had this happen to me too.
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
106
I haven't read all, but how guaranteed is this WFH. Company policies change all the time. I had this happen to me too.

It isn’t ... I believe I mentioned that it n one of my previous replies. You can literally trip into a tech job in Denver...but if my WFH setup dried up...would be much more difficult (I assume) to land one.

That is why we would definitely try to move up there with minimal liabilities outside of living/planning for retirement...but those aren’t cheap either.
 

BarkingGhostar

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2009
8,409
1,617
136
Dunno, but you should do what makes you happy, and maximum $ ≠ maximum happiness unless you're shallow. You need to figure it out.
So, this advice can be quite dangerous in the wrong kind of hands. Psychopaths, pedophiles and whatnot.
 

AznAnarchy99

Lifer
Dec 6, 2004
14,695
117
106
My direct co-worker does this right now. I have no idea what he does on a normal basis or if he's alive sometimes. He loves it though because that's his personality. He'd rather not talk to anyone.

As for the pay drop, 50% is a lot but you'll have to decide if you're okay with that.
 

PricklyPete

Lifer
Sep 17, 2002
14,582
162
106
My direct co-worker does this right now. I have no idea what he does on a normal basis or if he's alive sometimes. He loves it though because that's his personality. He'd rather not talk to anyone.

As for the pay drop, 50% is a lot but you'll have to decide if you're okay with that.

50% may not be accurate...we’ll see what I am able to work out. In the planning stage, I like to be extra conservative to make sure it is doable. To come up with that number, I basically took the average of the programmers I currently employ in the areas I would most likely be interested in pursuing. The average is about half of what I currently make. If I could make a deal with current/old company who all value my experience...I likely will do much better...but not going to plan with that in mind.
 
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gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,739
452
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Being from Colorado (Thornton) myself, I'm torn... I feel like you should either move to the mountains to avoid the clusterfuck that the Denver metro area has turned into, or move from Colorado entirely because it's all downhill from here.

Either way, get out while you still can
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
687
126
The key is having a sought-after technical skill and then landing with a national organization as a consultant. You’d be surprised how much you can make though there might be some travel involved.

I was a consultant who worked remotely for around 3 years and made more than the Directors at my previous job. I’ve been in corporate positions the last couple of years but have another remote consulting opportunity which I initially turned down but may change my mind.

I’ll be honest - I have never cared about climbing the corporate ladder. I work because I have to work to survive, not because I enjoy it. With that being said, I am a nerd and love solving problems and helping my customers win gives me great satisfaction. Working from home as a remote consultant allowed me to avoid much of the BS you deal with going into an office while at the same time, giving me a quiet place to concentrate and a ton of awesome flexibility which saved considerable time in my personal life.

EDIT: If you work as a contract consultant, I’d wager you could make more than you make now.