[MartezJ]

I have A.D.D and have no luck when it comes to operating in a regular work environment. I was wondering if anyone thinks that it will be possible to land a full-time software engineering telecommuting job after graduating with my bachelor's degree? Don't be afraid to be honest, I think I might be a little far-fetched here. Thanks guys!

[modi123_1]

Who knows? You skill level, interview ability, etc. We don't know you but I guess, sure, maybe... but it is hard to give definitive answers with such little info.

[tlhIn`toq]

I think it will be pretty unlikely. Most companies aren't going to hire someone off the street and tell them they can work at home. You need to work at the office for a period of time to know the team, the product, the workflow and so on. More important that you learning all that, is your bosses learning about you. Are you the kind of person that is good at self-management? If you have trouble working at a normal office where people are watching you and you have a measure of need to stay on task, as your boss I would assume you to be incapable of working at home with nobody managing you and every possible distraction taking you off your duties.

[MartezJ]

tlhIn`toq, on 14 October 2012 - 12:26 PM, said:

I think it will be pretty unlikely. Most companies aren't going to hire someone off the street and tell them they can work at home. You need to work at the office for a period of time to know the team, the product, the workflow and so on. More important that you learning all that, is your bosses learning about you. Are you the kind of person that is good at self-management? If you have trouble working at a normal office where people are watching you and you have a measure of need to stay on task, as your boss I would assume you to be incapable of working at home with nobody managing you and every possible distraction taking you off your duties.

Thanks for the tough, honest advice. I guess in some respect I will have to prove myself. What about freelance work? Is freelance work usually lucrative?

[tlhIn`toq]

MartezJ, on 14 October 2012 - 01:47 PM, said:

Is freelance work usually lucrative?

You're competing against every other fresh graduate out there looking to build a reputation for themselves. So you have to be FAST and CHEAP. Plus you're competing against outsources in other countries like India where the cost of living is $5 a week.

Take a look at sites like oDesk and vWorker. Look at the contracts open for bid for their max bid accepted and current low bid provided. Can you fulfill the requirements in an amount of time where you can bid on it. If 40 hours a work is going to net you $100 then you know you need to work faster.

[MartezJ]

tlhIn`toq, on 14 October 2012 - 12:57 PM, said:

MartezJ, on 14 October 2012 - 01:47 PM, said:

Is freelance work usually lucrative?

You're competing against every other fresh graduate out there looking to build a reputation for themselves. So you have to be FAST and CHEAP. Plus you're competing against outsources in other countries like India where the cost of living is $5 a week.

Take a look at sites like oDesk and vWorker. Look at the contracts open for bid for their max bid accepted and current low bid provided. Can you fulfill the requirements in an amount of time where you can bid on it. If 40 hours a work is going to net you $100 then you know you need to work faster.

Yeah definatley, I'm surprised anyone here even replied with legitimate, helpful advice. I know that freelance sites like Odesk outsource workers from India and things like that, so we will see I suppose.

[creativecoding]

I've found vWorker to be VERY good with hiring the programmer with good experience rather than the programmer who bids the lowest. It's also not that hard to get a couple small jobs on that site to raise your reputation, and the higher reputation you get the more you should/could be charging. After gaining some experience don't bother yourself with smalltime jobs.

[Craig328]

Pretty much everything tlhIn`toq has already said.

I went back to working contracts from home this past summer and it requires real discipline to stay focused on your job(s). Aside from the fact that you need to bring a body of work to an employer that proves you're competent, experienced and can do the work they'll assign you, if you have something like ADD you'd likely find that working in a less structured environment will be even tougher than working in an office. People look at those who work from home like they've got it made. It's not entirely like that.

There's a common belief that you can work whenever you want. A lot of times that's not really true. Your employer probably does sit at a desk and probably is there starting at 8AM everyday. If he's working he expects you to be working as well oftentimes. So, no sleeping in til 10AM and so on. Further, lots of employers like to use things like Skype and they like to be able to do video chats and such. This means you really can't sleep til like 7:50, roll out, make a cup of coffee and be online by 8:00. You do need to stick to a routine and that normally means taking a shower, getting dressed and so on. It took only one mention one time about the ball cap I was wearing (to cover bed head) and the fact that it looked like I hadn't shaved in 4-5 days (I hadn't) to learn that one real quick.

Further, at an office, when you're at your desk you're fair game for work, emails, phone calls, etc. When you work remotely though, the boss sometimes assumes that anytime is work time for you. This can mess up going to lunch, taking a break, hell...it's gotten to the point at my house that if I have to hit the head, I take the damn phone. I kid you not...not a word all day from anyone UNTIL nature calls. Then the phone will, guaranteed, ring like a damn fire alarm. That may just be my experience but I've done remote work for around 3 years total now and damn if that habit hasn't been proved more times than I care to count.

Finally, start work time is one thing...end work time is entirely another. I've had folks call me up at 11PM wanting me to handle a site that was throwing errors. I've had them call me when I'm at the movies with my kids on the weekend. I've gotten emails when I'm out on the lake with friends and family on a Sunday afternoon. One of the worst habits new teleworkers form is that they don't adopt a "after X time each day I'm done". Now, I bill hourly and all of my contracts contain wording that for work requested that is performed outside normal business hours, I charge a premium rate. This dissuades people from thinking I'm the catchall, weekend, 24/7 on call guy...at least once they see the invoice anyway.

So, yeah, since you're a recent grad, get some experience, work the jobs you can work and the best way to see if you'd like telework is to pick up small side contracts that you'd do on evenings and spare time. There's lots more differences (like dealing with contracts that don't pay you...that one's always fun) but stick your toe in and see if you like it.

[AnalyticLunatic]

Craig328, on 15 October 2012 - 07:14 AM, said:

Now, I bill hourly and all of my contracts contain wording that for work requested that is performed outside normal business hours, I charge a premium rate. This dissuades people from thinking I'm the catchall, weekend, 24/7 on call guy...at least once they see the invoice anyway.

Excellent advice overall Craig328. This particular bit is something I may work into my own business as a Freelance Web Designer. Thankfully I haven't had any issues as of yet to force me to charge a premium rate. If anything, sometimes it feels like I'm more vested in the work than my own Clients

[Craig328]

When I decided to do that, I worded it such that it's invoiced as "premium support/dev services". In the contract, and in the verbal discussions I have prior to accepting one, I tell them the problem (they're almost always sympathetic/understanding) and that I have this additional billing tier to cover it. I also tell them that it's billed at 60 minute minimums...so if it's a 5 minute issue (and as long as it's not something I did or was responsible for) they tend to think twice about calling me to handle it. What I've found is that it really promotes foresight and in the end, it causes them to experience fewer issues and they're happier for it.

Having said all that, it also means that if they call me at 3AM...I get my ass up and go to work. So there is kind of a trade-off, although that hasn't been an issue yet.

[MartezJ]

Thanks guys, your awesome