I have handed in my notice in the current company after thinking about it for over a month. The simple reason is, it is not my goal to work for someone. The only reason I would, in future, is if I have a big say in running things, or I am so desperate for money that it is the only option, which is the reason I went into a typical 9-5 job in the first place.
Instead I will be a freelancer or at least to most of the description of a freelancer – I won’t be chasing up clients or hoping to find more – that is dealt with my someone else – I guess you could call the position an “independent developer”, much like an independent financial adviser working in a firm would have other staff who handle some of the more, “officey” tasks letting him/her get on with the task at hand. One thing that sold me was that, the company’s weekly meeting was down the pub on a friday – what a way to end the week!
The new company boss was also the Technical Manager of the previous company, and from the first day, we got on very well. Having someone extremely technical managing the staff is a plus – at least he knows what can and can’t be done, and knows the best ways of doing things also. When the manager isn’t technical, you will find yourself endlessly repeating things which are obvious to you, protesting against what is blatantly wrong, and being received with rude stares of ignorance, usually to have to do the wrong thing anyway.
This hopefully means the end of the 9-5 routine for me, which I have always believed to be counter-productive. If you have a bad morning, and come in lethargic, then the company will be paying for poor effort from you. If you then wake up during the day, then you would be going home when you could have a few more hours “in the zone”, getting on with work at a good pace. My best time seems to shift every so often too – sometimes I work like a machine at night, sometimes it is during early mornings, but when your routine is the typical bankers office routine, then you can’t maximise on that. There is a reason the biggest developer companies allow their developers to be flexible you know…
Things haven’t ended on a negative note though – just, in an industry so fast paced, it is very bad when you don’t get the time to learn new things. Nothing makes life drag on than a project that never seems to end either, so I am going back to my old roots – the reason I became senior developer after a week of working in the first company, is because I spent so much time doing web development at a much, MUCH faster pace than college or university. Imagine how much further ahead I could be if I carry on with that pace for just another couple of years at least.
In a nutshell, this move allows me to:
- Grow my own skills again, which is what got me ahead of the league in the first place
- Work in my own time patterns – no more waking up against the natural cycle just to waste a morning over-lethargic, or going home bang on 5:30 when I could easily do a few more hours whilst in the zone
- Not bother with any ‘office politics’ or ignorance – the current company was pretty good in this area though, and no one really put others down simply for existing
- Make my own money – at least indirectly – freelancing pays the bills allowing me to build my own projects, it makes my friend money, and he, and others prevent me from having to fuss around with hoping someone will pay
- Live a cheaper lifestyle, old friends, more freedoms, more income, and new friends in a city where lifestyle is a bit more relaxed