Freelance solidarity
Well so far the results of the poll are dead even on whether I should take the job or not. I suppose I’ll give it some more time to see if more people respond (according to FeedBurner I have 8 subscribers now, and I voted and I know at least two other people did who didn’t actually read the blog, so there should be at least 5 more people who might still vote). Fortunately (and probably smartly), I don’t actually intend on making an important life decision based on the results of one web poll on a relatively low traffic site.
Anyway, this isn’t strictly relevant to my topic, but my good friend Alan is a freelance animator, so I’ll pretend that makes it relevant enough. Alan has just premiered the first episode of Vermis, a series of clay-mation shorts about a group of worms on Uth TV. It’s well done, funny, and more episodes are on the way as soon as he can make more clay worms, so check it out and support a freelancer and artist.
On a more germane note, I’m now exactly three weeks out from my last day in San Francisco. I still haven’t made any arrangements for the move, but after doing a little more research (and checking out the links that you all sent me) I think I’ve decided that I’m going to follow my first instinct and go with Help U Move. I just need to call them and make sure there’s going to be enough space on my street for them to leave the trailer during the time I’ll need it. Details will follow of my experience with them, as I’m sure it will be useful to anyone else planning a move.
July 3rd, 2006 17:52
If you go freelance, good luck to you. I was a full-time freelance writer for nine months, and it drove me crazy. Working from home seems great at first, but then it’s boring and lonely and you miss having co-workers, even if for the idle chatter. Some days, 5 p.m. will roll around and you’ll realize you never actually stepped for out of the apartment, and that’ll make you sad. And then your girlfriend will come home and want to chill out, and you’ll be all revved up and want to go out somewhere because you’ve been inside all day, and…
Well, you get the point. Maybe freelance IT isn’t like this, but writing sure was.
July 4th, 2006 10:37
I don’t think freelance IT will be quite like that, I’ll have to spend time at the office’s of my clients for certain things. Also my girlfriend will also be working from home a lot of the time (her office is out in Lexington, so unless there’s a specific reason to go in she’ll be staying home) so hopefully that aspect of it will be taken care of as well.
But even if it is like that, I still want to give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out I’ll just move on.
July 5th, 2006 16:42
Take it from me: working for yourself will always be more rewarding than working for someone else. Sure, there will be some lean times, but once you push past that, you’ll be thankful for the experience. Good luck in your new freelancing endeavors!
July 5th, 2006 16:48
Thanks! The satisfaction of working for myself is pretty much exactly what I’m looking for. I always new I was never really cut out for your typical office job, and having done it for a while now I’m more sure than ever. I’m really excited about all this and can’t wait to jump in.