I want to quit my frustrating job and become a shareware developer - will this work?
February 9, 2008 5:41 PM Subscribe
My job is boring and frustrating. I worry I'm wasting my life. I want to quit and write shareware for a living. Is this a sane idea?
My situation: I'm 24, have a (very good) university degree in computer science, and have been working at a small software company for the past eleven months. Previously, I had five-month stint at another software company, which I quit because the two-hour commute was eating my life.
Now I'm not very happy at my workplace. The state of our source code is disastrous, and I spend much of my time trawling through obtuse un-commented code, repressing a desire to scream in frustration. The requirements I'm given are fuzzy at best, and I spend a lot of time worrying that it's impossible to do my work properly and being bored and unmotivated. Then I get angry at myself for being so unmotivated, and tell myself that my job's not that bad compared to many others'.
I do have to say that the people are pretty nice, my manager is a sensible person, and they have really treated me fairly.
But I'm painfully worried that I'm throwing away the best years of my life - there's not much scope to rise in the company, and my work is unlikely to become more interesting or less frustrating.
I've been thinking about throwing off my employment-shackles and becoming self-employed. I have a bunch of ideas for shareware games and utilities, and I definitely have the skills to write them. I also have enough money in the bank to (realistically) keep me afloat for ten months with no income. I also have no interest at all in making lots of money. I just want enough to house, feed and clothe myself, and pay for a cinema ticket every once in a while.
What's keeping me from doing the leap is that the one time I previously attempted to write a shareware utility, it was a complete dud - 500 hours of work for a $10 program bought by 40 users. The other problem is that I tend to suffer from SAD, and don't want to have to completely rebuild my routine in the middle of winter. So either I have to quit soon, or wait a year. Another problem is that because of my already somewhat checkered employment history, quitting now may make it hard to find a job again if my self-employment experiment fails. (With five months at one company, twelve at another, and say nine being self-employed.)
So I'm torn between thinking "I'm wasting my life here, let's get out" and "but I will just fall flat on my face and fail". In reality, there's a spectrum of options I could pursue:
1. Give in my two weeks' notice on Monday morning.
2. Ask to work 60% part-time on Monday morning (allowing me to slowly transition to self-employment). They'll probably say no though, because they need me too much.
3. Wait for a few months, see if any of my side projects come to fruition. Quit when something succeeds, even if it's the middle of winter.
4. Wait for a whole 12 months, accumulating ludicrous amounts of spare money, and staying at my company for a CV-respectable time, then quit.
5. Never quit, stay with the company until I die of old age.
I wish I could talk to an older, wiser self who could tell me what is the right thing to do in the long run. In the absence of time machines, I ask you, MeFiItes - have you been in a similar situation? What did you do? Did you regret it? Do you work in freelancing/shareware? Is my dream possible? Am I being whiny about my perfectly OK job, or being clear-headed about my life situation?
My situation: I'm 24, have a (very good) university degree in computer science, and have been working at a small software company for the past eleven months. Previously, I had five-month stint at another software company, which I quit because the two-hour commute was eating my life.
Now I'm not very happy at my workplace. The state of our source code is disastrous, and I spend much of my time trawling through obtuse un-commented code, repressing a desire to scream in frustration. The requirements I'm given are fuzzy at best, and I spend a lot of time worrying that it's impossible to do my work properly and being bored and unmotivated. Then I get angry at myself for being so unmotivated, and tell myself that my job's not that bad compared to many others'.
I do have to say that the people are pretty nice, my manager is a sensible person, and they have really treated me fairly.
But I'm painfully worried that I'm throwing away the best years of my life - there's not much scope to rise in the company, and my work is unlikely to become more interesting or less frustrating.
I've been thinking about throwing off my employment-shackles and becoming self-employed. I have a bunch of ideas for shareware games and utilities, and I definitely have the skills to write them. I also have enough money in the bank to (realistically) keep me afloat for ten months with no income. I also have no interest at all in making lots of money. I just want enough to house, feed and clothe myself, and pay for a cinema ticket every once in a while.
What's keeping me from doing the leap is that the one time I previously attempted to write a shareware utility, it was a complete dud - 500 hours of work for a $10 program bought by 40 users. The other problem is that I tend to suffer from SAD, and don't want to have to completely rebuild my routine in the middle of winter. So either I have to quit soon, or wait a year. Another problem is that because of my already somewhat checkered employment history, quitting now may make it hard to find a job again if my self-employment experiment fails. (With five months at one company, twelve at another, and say nine being self-employed.)
So I'm torn between thinking "I'm wasting my life here, let's get out" and "but I will just fall flat on my face and fail". In reality, there's a spectrum of options I could pursue:
1. Give in my two weeks' notice on Monday morning.
2. Ask to work 60% part-time on Monday morning (allowing me to slowly transition to self-employment). They'll probably say no though, because they need me too much.
3. Wait for a few months, see if any of my side projects come to fruition. Quit when something succeeds, even if it's the middle of winter.
4. Wait for a whole 12 months, accumulating ludicrous amounts of spare money, and staying at my company for a CV-respectable time, then quit.
5. Never quit, stay with the company until I die of old age.
I wish I could talk to an older, wiser self who could tell me what is the right thing to do in the long run. In the absence of time machines, I ask you, MeFiItes - have you been in a similar situation? What did you do? Did you regret it? Do you work in freelancing/shareware? Is my dream possible? Am I being whiny about my perfectly OK job, or being clear-headed about my life situation?
Wait on yourself to have written a few shareware utilities that are being bought. I'm sure that your job seems demoralizing at the moment, but there has to be some positive things about it. Most of the problems of running your own business are not with the "craft" of the business itself (this being software, but with the business part of the business. It would be a good idea for you to get some practice with those parts of running a small business while you still have a secure job.
posted by bigmusic at 6:06 PM on February 9, 2008
posted by bigmusic at 6:06 PM on February 9, 2008
At your age, my bro-in-law sat in a basement with his buddy and wrote an application which they sold several years later for seven figures. Now they're writing shareware again. They eat and so do their families.
My neighbor retired from the NHL in his early twenties, got an entry-level job in insurance, then quit that and wrote an insurance application. He later sold the company to IBM for I don't know how much, but they seem to have three houses and a sailing boat.
Yours is the ideal age to do something cool.
posted by unSane at 6:22 PM on February 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
My neighbor retired from the NHL in his early twenties, got an entry-level job in insurance, then quit that and wrote an insurance application. He later sold the company to IBM for I don't know how much, but they seem to have three houses and a sailing boat.
Yours is the ideal age to do something cool.
posted by unSane at 6:22 PM on February 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
Shareware isn't a viable business model, just put it out of your head.
Suggestion one: Is your local job market buoyant enough to support contracting? Go do that - better money, gain experience faster, make contacts as a hedge against the future (if you go the start-up route in the future you'll need more skills than a mere coder can bring to the table).
Suggestion two: Hold on to the current job until you find somewhere you'd really love to work, doing something that's really fun (but recognise that even the funnest job on earth includes scutwork). Be super-choosy. (I wish I'd applied to work at last.fm when I first started using them - I couldn't move back to London then, but I wish I had. I'd kill to be doing the kind of stuff they do).
Suggestion three: In the last tech downturn (2001) the guys who had experienced the one before that (early 90s) ran for the largest corp. they could find just before it broke. Dull, but the larger your boat the more likely you are to weather the storm. I intend to learn from their example this time around, and should, IMO, have made the switch away from startups six months ago.)
posted by Leon at 6:23 PM on February 9, 2008
Suggestion one: Is your local job market buoyant enough to support contracting? Go do that - better money, gain experience faster, make contacts as a hedge against the future (if you go the start-up route in the future you'll need more skills than a mere coder can bring to the table).
Suggestion two: Hold on to the current job until you find somewhere you'd really love to work, doing something that's really fun (but recognise that even the funnest job on earth includes scutwork). Be super-choosy. (I wish I'd applied to work at last.fm when I first started using them - I couldn't move back to London then, but I wish I had. I'd kill to be doing the kind of stuff they do).
Suggestion three: In the last tech downturn (2001) the guys who had experienced the one before that (early 90s) ran for the largest corp. they could find just before it broke. Dull, but the larger your boat the more likely you are to weather the storm. I intend to learn from their example this time around, and should, IMO, have made the switch away from startups six months ago.)
posted by Leon at 6:23 PM on February 9, 2008
Ask yourself "what would I do if I wasn't afraid" and then do it.
Do it. Do it. DO IT!
And good luck!
posted by JaySunSee at 6:23 PM on February 9, 2008 [3 favorites]
Do it. Do it. DO IT!
And good luck!
posted by JaySunSee at 6:23 PM on February 9, 2008 [3 favorites]
You haven't listed as a possibility "finding a different job where I feel that I'm actually doing worthwhile work that will lead somewhere". I can understand if you've lost faith that such a thing exists, but you don't necessarily need to throw out the baby (all jobs working for someone else) with the bathwater (this particular job).
Also - you might consider expanding your education to try to make your next go at independence more successful. A business course, maybe some marketing -- I know that when I was studying CS at college, some of my mates may have felt that the business majors were maybe not as sharp as the engineering/CS majors (although we joked that we'd all probably be working for them someday). Whether or not that's true (and of course it's not), there may be ideas hidden in their books that could help you, and you might eventually want to communicate with and/or hire a businessy person sometime.
posted by amtho at 6:32 PM on February 9, 2008
Also - you might consider expanding your education to try to make your next go at independence more successful. A business course, maybe some marketing -- I know that when I was studying CS at college, some of my mates may have felt that the business majors were maybe not as sharp as the engineering/CS majors (although we joked that we'd all probably be working for them someday). Whether or not that's true (and of course it's not), there may be ideas hidden in their books that could help you, and you might eventually want to communicate with and/or hire a businessy person sometime.
posted by amtho at 6:32 PM on February 9, 2008
I wish I could talk to an older, wiser self who could tell me what is the right thing to do in the long run.
Let me follow up my last comment with a quote from the prominent 20th century philosopher Bertrand Russell:
"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."
Doesn't this help answer your question?
posted by JaySunSee at 6:32 PM on February 9, 2008
Let me follow up my last comment with a quote from the prominent 20th century philosopher Bertrand Russell:
"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."
Doesn't this help answer your question?
posted by JaySunSee at 6:32 PM on February 9, 2008
Get a better job and contribute to a larger open source application to sate your shareware wonderlust.
The IT world is crying out for skills at the moment, you're only 24 and so have heaps to learn. You could possibly get a job at a larger/better/sort after development company where your working on bigger projects with very experienced people.
You have heaps of time, and just because you're dissatisfied with your current role this doesn't mean that's it for the rest of your life.
posted by mattoxic at 6:37 PM on February 9, 2008
The IT world is crying out for skills at the moment, you're only 24 and so have heaps to learn. You could possibly get a job at a larger/better/sort after development company where your working on bigger projects with very experienced people.
You have heaps of time, and just because you're dissatisfied with your current role this doesn't mean that's it for the rest of your life.
posted by mattoxic at 6:37 PM on February 9, 2008
Welcome to my life! I could have written every f'in word, other than being 24, sigh.
[I'm here on the green due to some procrastination issues with my in-progress iphone shareware project :( ]
What I am in the process of doing is your #4: Saving capital.
I call it "fueling the tank", banking the rocket fuel that will propel the enterprise forward before it either becomes self-supporting or falls back to Earth.
IMO a shareware author should have 2 years of capital saved up. Doing the little-fish thing takes talent, energy, commitment, AND a fair amount of actual luck. The longer you can apply the first three the more likely the last will fall into place.
You should have a constellation of 3-6 products working synergistically for you in attracting attention before those 2 years of capital are burned through.
Plan wisely, and then go for it. "Measure twice, cut once" the saying goes.
posted by panamax at 6:58 PM on February 9, 2008
[I'm here on the green due to some procrastination issues with my in-progress iphone shareware project :( ]
What I am in the process of doing is your #4: Saving capital.
I call it "fueling the tank", banking the rocket fuel that will propel the enterprise forward before it either becomes self-supporting or falls back to Earth.
IMO a shareware author should have 2 years of capital saved up. Doing the little-fish thing takes talent, energy, commitment, AND a fair amount of actual luck. The longer you can apply the first three the more likely the last will fall into place.
You should have a constellation of 3-6 products working synergistically for you in attracting attention before those 2 years of capital are burned through.
Plan wisely, and then go for it. "Measure twice, cut once" the saying goes.
posted by panamax at 6:58 PM on February 9, 2008
Shareware isn't a viable business model, just put it out of your head.Nonsense, and not even well-argued nonsense. There are lots of companies who use the shareware model, like Bradbury Software and Stardock.
My recommendation: If you have an idea, work on it in the evenings, on your own equipment on your own time. Do not do anything that will give your company claim over your intellectual property. (Basically, Option #3.)
If it succeeds, then you can quit your job and work on the shareware projects full time. If not, at least you'll still be able to pay the rent.
But if you love writing shareware, then do that. If the choice is between your job and your passion, take the passion. You don't want to look back thirty years from now and regret not taking the chance.
posted by JDHarper at 7:00 PM on February 9, 2008
I doubt doing your own thing for a year will hurt your employability at all. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you could come back to the exact same job at the same company.
If your company needs you as badly as you say, you can probably get them to continue to pay you on an hourly basis as a consultant. Pick up a couple other clients and you have a legitimate resume line item, and you can live indefinitely without relying on savings and still set aside a significant amount of time for your own projects.
Selling shareware per se does strike me as a somewhat dubious business model. However, creating your own business(es) in general is a very good idea. You want to own things, not be working for someone else.
In fact, I would say the risk in this equation lies more on the side of not doing something like this. Each year you spend as an employee, you'll become more and more convinced that it's the only possible lifestyle and that anything else is far too dangerous to attempt. But if you do try things on your own for a while and decide it's all been a complete disaster, it's just not that hard to go back to working a conventional job.
posted by dixie flatline at 7:24 PM on February 9, 2008
If your company needs you as badly as you say, you can probably get them to continue to pay you on an hourly basis as a consultant. Pick up a couple other clients and you have a legitimate resume line item, and you can live indefinitely without relying on savings and still set aside a significant amount of time for your own projects.
Selling shareware per se does strike me as a somewhat dubious business model. However, creating your own business(es) in general is a very good idea. You want to own things, not be working for someone else.
In fact, I would say the risk in this equation lies more on the side of not doing something like this. Each year you spend as an employee, you'll become more and more convinced that it's the only possible lifestyle and that anything else is far too dangerous to attempt. But if you do try things on your own for a while and decide it's all been a complete disaster, it's just not that hard to go back to working a conventional job.
posted by dixie flatline at 7:24 PM on February 9, 2008
I feel your pain. Been there. My escape pod was grad school :P
It's very difficult to make money with shareware, so here's a modification to your idea: take your 10 months to work on your dream projects, but don't expect to make any money from them. Rather, think of these projects as a portfolio that's going to get you a job with a company that will let you write the kind of code you want to write. So, for example, if you want in to the gaming industry (which I hear is very very competitive), you spend those months writing a game that's going to impress potential employers. Any shareware revenue you can bring in is bonus.
(you can also do this with evenings and weekends while keeping your job, but my experience is that this is very hard... it took me 6 months that way to put together a very simple open source library I'd been wanting to write, should have taken me 1 month)
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 7:25 PM on February 9, 2008
It's very difficult to make money with shareware, so here's a modification to your idea: take your 10 months to work on your dream projects, but don't expect to make any money from them. Rather, think of these projects as a portfolio that's going to get you a job with a company that will let you write the kind of code you want to write. So, for example, if you want in to the gaming industry (which I hear is very very competitive), you spend those months writing a game that's going to impress potential employers. Any shareware revenue you can bring in is bonus.
(you can also do this with evenings and weekends while keeping your job, but my experience is that this is very hard... it took me 6 months that way to put together a very simple open source library I'd been wanting to write, should have taken me 1 month)
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 7:25 PM on February 9, 2008
One plus point for staying at your dreary job is that working on horrible, horrible projects builds experience. You become battle hardened, per se. However, I don't know if this is worth expending so much of your life's energy into. The advantage to staying (at least a little longer -- maybe a year) is that you will acculumate more capital, and if you're disciplined enough, you can work on the shareware projects during the weekends and weeknights.
If I were in your shoes, I'd ditch the job, throw caution into the wind and take a risk. It seems like you don't have a family to support or anything tying you down, so if ever there was a time to do this, it's now.
Good luck, and heed panamax's wise words (especially: "Plan wisely, and then go for it. 'Measure twice, cut once' the saying goes.")
posted by spiderskull at 7:42 PM on February 9, 2008
If I were in your shoes, I'd ditch the job, throw caution into the wind and take a risk. It seems like you don't have a family to support or anything tying you down, so if ever there was a time to do this, it's now.
Good luck, and heed panamax's wise words (especially: "Plan wisely, and then go for it. 'Measure twice, cut once' the saying goes.")
posted by spiderskull at 7:42 PM on February 9, 2008
And you know, now that I think about it and reread some of these responses, it may even look good on your resume to see that you're taking initiative on something you're interested in. If you phrase it right (e.g. "after assessing the risks, I decided that this was the right time to pursue my own projects"), and you're honest with your current employer (so as to not burn any bridges), you should be good to go. The fact that you would be doing something related to what your future jobs may be works to your advantage.
posted by spiderskull at 7:45 PM on February 9, 2008
posted by spiderskull at 7:45 PM on February 9, 2008
JDHarper: Yup, I could be completely wrong. But would you bet two years of your life on the shareware distribution model? I'd rather open a restaurant, the odds are better.
I'm not saying "don't take a risk", I'm saying "take the risk with the best odds of success".
Look, I'm sorry, but all the "dare to soar" stuff in this thread is the career equivalent of the knee-jerk "dump him!" in the relationship threads. Follow your dream is all very well, but it has to be tempered with a dash of reality. OP wants to do something a bit more meaningful, and that's laudable, but shareware distribution will mean doing his own marketing, finances and God knows what else. Shareware will take him further away from meaningful, not closer to it.
(OP, take a look at this thread. See all those people saying "I wish X existed", followed 3 posts later by "it does, just download Y"? If you're going to sell shareware, they're your target audience. How are you going to get your software in front of people who don't know it exists and never Google for the solution to their problem?)
posted by Leon at 7:46 PM on February 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm not saying "don't take a risk", I'm saying "take the risk with the best odds of success".
Look, I'm sorry, but all the "dare to soar" stuff in this thread is the career equivalent of the knee-jerk "dump him!" in the relationship threads. Follow your dream is all very well, but it has to be tempered with a dash of reality. OP wants to do something a bit more meaningful, and that's laudable, but shareware distribution will mean doing his own marketing, finances and God knows what else. Shareware will take him further away from meaningful, not closer to it.
(OP, take a look at this thread. See all those people saying "I wish X existed", followed 3 posts later by "it does, just download Y"? If you're going to sell shareware, they're your target audience. How are you going to get your software in front of people who don't know it exists and never Google for the solution to their problem?)
posted by Leon at 7:46 PM on February 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
> I wish I could talk to an older, wiser self who could tell me what is the right thing to do in the long run
Speaking. I won't lay claim to being wiser, but I am definitely older. I was bright, passionate and dissatisfied too when I was in my 20's. I was also a colossal flake and not so mature and I would find fault with ANY situation I spent more than a month at. I changed jobs several times, some lasting less than 9 months. Any of this sound familiar?
Here's my take - you're finding the actual work boring and frustrating but this is mainly for personal reasons. You're young, and you already mentioned SAD. So first, you have to decide whether it's really personal issues or uncertainty that's making you dissatisfied with the work, or if it's really the work. Maybe you should seek the counsel of your parents, or some older friends, or even some sort of counsellor. Does your employer have an employee assistance program that can provide counselling?
You mention that the people at work are good. That is so important, especially when you're building your career that you should not make any decision to leave lightly.
Here's what I would have advised my younger self to do: First, take as many steps back as possible and assess the situation as objectively as possible. It's probably not as bad as you think. Second, make sure you're getting as much help as possible with any personal issues, if they are the real obstacle. Most important - recognize that YOU are in control if you want to be. You can choose to see the software not as a drudge as an interesting problem, or at least something that you can leave behind at 5PM, and work on your own software in the evenings. You can set yourself personal goals, like cleaning up x % of the old code. As you work with the old code, you can plan out how you'd redo everything. Besides being an interesting exercise, you might at some point present your ideas to your boss who might consider implementing them, if you make a good case.
Another important point is that you need to have balanced life. If you're not doing much outside of work, then work seems more important than it is. Try to use your non-work time to pursue your passions and interests, and to be with friends and family. Work won't seem as big a problem once it fades back to it's proper perspective.
To everyone who's saying "follow your passion', I agree, except you have to be honest as to whether you really have that passion and know exactly what to do at 24. I didn't, but I eventually did, and I made the move later, and so I'm here to say that you have lots of time to work things out, and you may do better in the long run to be laid back now, til you are really sure of what you want to do.
And shareware as a fulltime career? Uh, no. At least not until you have produced at least one title that is making enough to underwrite other development efforts.
posted by Artful Codger at 7:47 PM on February 9, 2008 [4 favorites]
Speaking. I won't lay claim to being wiser, but I am definitely older. I was bright, passionate and dissatisfied too when I was in my 20's. I was also a colossal flake and not so mature and I would find fault with ANY situation I spent more than a month at. I changed jobs several times, some lasting less than 9 months. Any of this sound familiar?
Here's my take - you're finding the actual work boring and frustrating but this is mainly for personal reasons. You're young, and you already mentioned SAD. So first, you have to decide whether it's really personal issues or uncertainty that's making you dissatisfied with the work, or if it's really the work. Maybe you should seek the counsel of your parents, or some older friends, or even some sort of counsellor. Does your employer have an employee assistance program that can provide counselling?
You mention that the people at work are good. That is so important, especially when you're building your career that you should not make any decision to leave lightly.
Here's what I would have advised my younger self to do: First, take as many steps back as possible and assess the situation as objectively as possible. It's probably not as bad as you think. Second, make sure you're getting as much help as possible with any personal issues, if they are the real obstacle. Most important - recognize that YOU are in control if you want to be. You can choose to see the software not as a drudge as an interesting problem, or at least something that you can leave behind at 5PM, and work on your own software in the evenings. You can set yourself personal goals, like cleaning up x % of the old code. As you work with the old code, you can plan out how you'd redo everything. Besides being an interesting exercise, you might at some point present your ideas to your boss who might consider implementing them, if you make a good case.
Another important point is that you need to have balanced life. If you're not doing much outside of work, then work seems more important than it is. Try to use your non-work time to pursue your passions and interests, and to be with friends and family. Work won't seem as big a problem once it fades back to it's proper perspective.
To everyone who's saying "follow your passion', I agree, except you have to be honest as to whether you really have that passion and know exactly what to do at 24. I didn't, but I eventually did, and I made the move later, and so I'm here to say that you have lots of time to work things out, and you may do better in the long run to be laid back now, til you are really sure of what you want to do.
And shareware as a fulltime career? Uh, no. At least not until you have produced at least one title that is making enough to underwrite other development efforts.
posted by Artful Codger at 7:47 PM on February 9, 2008 [4 favorites]
don't quit., and dont forget you are young.
make a list of things you are not happy with, then sit and talk them through with the boss or someone you respect at work.
sounds like you definitely need to let the boss know you are not happy with the current situation. you need to plan, and implement, or you will continue to be frustaated.
posted by edtut at 8:20 PM on February 9, 2008
make a list of things you are not happy with, then sit and talk them through with the boss or someone you respect at work.
sounds like you definitely need to let the boss know you are not happy with the current situation. you need to plan, and implement, or you will continue to be frustaated.
posted by edtut at 8:20 PM on February 9, 2008
I've been consulting and freelancing since I was a little younger than you. I run a blog on consulting and freelancing and I tell people the same thing, over and over again: get an emergency fund and, if possible, start slowly. If you have 6-9 months of basic/expected expenses in the bank, a plan for consulting, some health care, and a few gigs going, you can consider f/t consulting or freelancing. I strongly encourage people to start out part-time. This lets you test the waters. You need a lot of skills to consult or freelance and it takes time for most people to get a good grounding in them. Start part-time and learn to estimate a job, quote a job, submit a proposal, land a deal, manage a client, manage a contract, deliver, invoice and follow up on that invoice. Most people can readily learn these skills, but it's a lot easier if you know that you've got a way to pay your rent and that you're got an emergency fund from with to draw. This is not to say that I discourage consulting! Heck, I run a whole blog encouraging people to get into it! But I think the most successful people are those with a bit of money to fall back on.
posted by acoutu at 8:31 PM on February 9, 2008
posted by acoutu at 8:31 PM on February 9, 2008
Start that business, but do it smart!
Writing a must-have utility is all well and good, but it's not going to end well if you didn't very the presence and size of the market, your ability to reach that market and how much of it you can expect to claim.
Running a successful business is fantastic, and a lot of it is pretty intuitive, but even a smart fellow can use some guidance. If you're really serious about the idea of writing shareware (or running some other small business) for a living, go back to school for an MBA. (maybe get a concentration in Entrepreneurship or something.)
A lot of it will be "yeah, duh, of course" bullshit, but it won't all be.
Your first thing could've failed for a dozen different reasons, but it's unlikely any of them are technical problems. As a Comp Sci, you should have a good brain for business once you start thinking that way.
Good luck!
posted by Tacos Are Pretty Great at 8:37 PM on February 9, 2008
Writing a must-have utility is all well and good, but it's not going to end well if you didn't very the presence and size of the market, your ability to reach that market and how much of it you can expect to claim.
Running a successful business is fantastic, and a lot of it is pretty intuitive, but even a smart fellow can use some guidance. If you're really serious about the idea of writing shareware (or running some other small business) for a living, go back to school for an MBA. (maybe get a concentration in Entrepreneurship or something.)
A lot of it will be "yeah, duh, of course" bullshit, but it won't all be.
Your first thing could've failed for a dozen different reasons, but it's unlikely any of them are technical problems. As a Comp Sci, you should have a good brain for business once you start thinking that way.
Good luck!
posted by Tacos Are Pretty Great at 8:37 PM on February 9, 2008
Look, I'm sorry, but all the "dare to soar" stuff in this thread is the career equivalent of the knee-jerk "dump him!" in the relationship threads.
It's amazing how often "dump him!" is the right advice, too.
OP: Another vote for jumping in and going for it. If nothing else, when you're back behind the same desk in 10 months you won't have a shareware itch to scratch. Nothing adds to discontent like believing in your soul that there's something better you should be doing.
Also, speaking from personal experience -- don't undervalue the pleasure of working with other people. My brief flirtation with writing shareware was ended by loneliness long before finances were an issue.
posted by tkolar at 8:54 PM on February 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
It's amazing how often "dump him!" is the right advice, too.
OP: Another vote for jumping in and going for it. If nothing else, when you're back behind the same desk in 10 months you won't have a shareware itch to scratch. Nothing adds to discontent like believing in your soul that there's something better you should be doing.
Also, speaking from personal experience -- don't undervalue the pleasure of working with other people. My brief flirtation with writing shareware was ended by loneliness long before finances were an issue.
posted by tkolar at 8:54 PM on February 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
Money can often help mitigate loneliness, if you have the funds to get out to social places, like shared workspaces, trade association meetings, professional networking events, lectures, coffee shops, etc.
posted by acoutu at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2008
posted by acoutu at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2008
Think about it this way. For one adult to subsist in a healthy manner in a decent neighborhood in the U.S., you really need to be making at least $100 a day, for twenty days of the month. To be comfortable, you need much more than that.
Viewing your shareware projects with cold-eyed realism, can you really envision them bringing that kind of money in?
I agree with Leon; a lot of the "dare to soar" stuff in this thread is just a reflection of how inexpensive it is for a person to encourage someone else.
posted by jayder at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2008
Viewing your shareware projects with cold-eyed realism, can you really envision them bringing that kind of money in?
I agree with Leon; a lot of the "dare to soar" stuff in this thread is just a reflection of how inexpensive it is for a person to encourage someone else.
posted by jayder at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2008
I've done exactly this, and the first time was successful and the second time unsuccessful at it. The first time I set out to publish a shareware game, and met my goal -- but didn't rely on it as my income (was a student at the time). It was a cool experience to see my software on CDs in Best Buy and get fan mail from people all over the world. The second time I did it in lieu of a day job, and that didn't work.
If you have enough flexibility in your life to consider monking-out in an efficiency apartment slamming code, you should also be able to find a job you can tolerate if not partially enjoy. I've found one of the key ingredients to remaining sane is to be able to shut off work when you step off the elevator in the evening. If you can do this, you can spend the next 4-5 hours doing your own stuff. This is the economically-prudent option.
Another option is to go into contracting, where you can be a little more detached from the political machinations of your company, and take breaks to do your own thing. This will give you a little experience in managing clients and negotiation, which might serve you if you are looking to hire people (which you are, right? I mean even John Carmack had help...)
But I'd look at the economics. You need to sell a lot of shareware to make the average software engineer's yearly salary + benefits. You also have to compare the comparative benefits of pure coding bliss against the people you'll meet and experiences you'll have in the corporate world. It might be better to plan an early retirement and work on making the most of your salaried years -- unless you are really committed to building a company and making it work, which involves more than just writing software.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:34 PM on February 9, 2008
If you have enough flexibility in your life to consider monking-out in an efficiency apartment slamming code, you should also be able to find a job you can tolerate if not partially enjoy. I've found one of the key ingredients to remaining sane is to be able to shut off work when you step off the elevator in the evening. If you can do this, you can spend the next 4-5 hours doing your own stuff. This is the economically-prudent option.
Another option is to go into contracting, where you can be a little more detached from the political machinations of your company, and take breaks to do your own thing. This will give you a little experience in managing clients and negotiation, which might serve you if you are looking to hire people (which you are, right? I mean even John Carmack had help...)
But I'd look at the economics. You need to sell a lot of shareware to make the average software engineer's yearly salary + benefits. You also have to compare the comparative benefits of pure coding bliss against the people you'll meet and experiences you'll have in the corporate world. It might be better to plan an early retirement and work on making the most of your salaried years -- unless you are really committed to building a company and making it work, which involves more than just writing software.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:34 PM on February 9, 2008
a lot of the "dare to soar" stuff in this thread is just a reflection of how inexpensive it is for a person to encourage someone else.
The problem is that there isn't any "dare to soar" stuff in this thread. The OP isn't talking about leaping out of a plane without a parachute -- they're talking about making a go of it as an independent software developer.
Really, what sort of consequences of failure are we talking about here? Somehow I don't think that taking a year and writing shareware will lead to the OP awaking naked, alone, and unloved in Soho.
What I'd like to hear from in this thread is someone who has jumped in and gone for it and now regrets the experience. I certainly have no question that my time was well spent.
posted by tkolar at 9:43 PM on February 9, 2008
The problem is that there isn't any "dare to soar" stuff in this thread. The OP isn't talking about leaping out of a plane without a parachute -- they're talking about making a go of it as an independent software developer.
Really, what sort of consequences of failure are we talking about here? Somehow I don't think that taking a year and writing shareware will lead to the OP awaking naked, alone, and unloved in Soho.
What I'd like to hear from in this thread is someone who has jumped in and gone for it and now regrets the experience. I certainly have no question that my time was well spent.
posted by tkolar at 9:43 PM on February 9, 2008
Ask to work 60% part-time on Monday morning (allowing me to slowly transition to self-employment). They'll probably say no though, because they need me too much.
Do they need you so much that they'd rather have you 60% of the time than not at all?
In any case, make a plan to get out. With specific dates (e.g. instead of writing that you will complete some action "in three months," write "by May 10th"). Fast or slow is not so important. Be prudent but not too cautious. Regretting that you didn't do something is worse than doing something you regret -- but fifty years from now, whether you did it in 2007 vs. 2008 probably won't matter much.
posted by winston at 9:51 PM on February 9, 2008
Do they need you so much that they'd rather have you 60% of the time than not at all?
In any case, make a plan to get out. With specific dates (e.g. instead of writing that you will complete some action "in three months," write "by May 10th"). Fast or slow is not so important. Be prudent but not too cautious. Regretting that you didn't do something is worse than doing something you regret -- but fifty years from now, whether you did it in 2007 vs. 2008 probably won't matter much.
posted by winston at 9:51 PM on February 9, 2008
there's not much scope to rise in the company
Then there's zero reason to stay, if you've learned everything you can from them.
posted by ook at 9:57 PM on February 9, 2008
Then there's zero reason to stay, if you've learned everything you can from them.
posted by ook at 9:57 PM on February 9, 2008
Look youre asking anonymous strangers who would love to hear you fail in your next mefi question. There's an insanity to anonymity here, thus all the 'QUIT YOUR JOB' and "DUMP HIM" responses. Please keep this in mind.
I suggest you read this comment and re-read it. I was in the same boat and was a monumental flake in my 20s. I kept switching jobs, never being satifsfied, and had a long furstrating run working as a freelancer that ended when my only client at the time got rid of me for political reasons. I went deep into debt, lost my apartment, and am still recoving from this many years laters.
I -wish- someone told me that I'd be happier in a corporate environment with stuff like 401k contributions and -gasp- actual healthcare and that if I wanst a complete idiot I'd get promoted eventually. I've only recently went back into the corporate world with a lot of my post-college ennui mostly gone and am doing ok, but because of all the job switching and freelance work I'm in a position I'm overqualified for and I'm pretty much starting at the bottom again.
So there's a little food for thought for you.
Lastly, its worth mentioning that if you cant pull this stuff off in your spare time you sure as heck are not pulling it off full-time. The only time its ever appropriate to leave a full time job with benefits is if your side business is so successful you must leave your day job because you will lose out on growth. Youre no where near that stage, thus the big drama queen moment you have planned for monday morning, is well, just drama.
Take a deep breath. Count your blessings. Imagine a medical disaster with no health insurance. Now start coding and coming up with ideas. If your shit is good and profitable in a year or three then start thinking about leaving work because it sounds like all you got right now is post-college blues.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:32 PM on February 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
I suggest you read this comment and re-read it. I was in the same boat and was a monumental flake in my 20s. I kept switching jobs, never being satifsfied, and had a long furstrating run working as a freelancer that ended when my only client at the time got rid of me for political reasons. I went deep into debt, lost my apartment, and am still recoving from this many years laters.
I -wish- someone told me that I'd be happier in a corporate environment with stuff like 401k contributions and -gasp- actual healthcare and that if I wanst a complete idiot I'd get promoted eventually. I've only recently went back into the corporate world with a lot of my post-college ennui mostly gone and am doing ok, but because of all the job switching and freelance work I'm in a position I'm overqualified for and I'm pretty much starting at the bottom again.
So there's a little food for thought for you.
Lastly, its worth mentioning that if you cant pull this stuff off in your spare time you sure as heck are not pulling it off full-time. The only time its ever appropriate to leave a full time job with benefits is if your side business is so successful you must leave your day job because you will lose out on growth. Youre no where near that stage, thus the big drama queen moment you have planned for monday morning, is well, just drama.
Take a deep breath. Count your blessings. Imagine a medical disaster with no health insurance. Now start coding and coming up with ideas. If your shit is good and profitable in a year or three then start thinking about leaving work because it sounds like all you got right now is post-college blues.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:32 PM on February 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
FWIW, I also do some side-work and every so often try a little side business and so far none have panned out; not becuase I have a day job, but because either the service isnt good enough or I just didnt get lucky this time. You can have the best of both worlds if youre motivated, smart, and hungry.
Also the lack of health insurance during my freelance years really hurt me for reasons I will not go into here, but I do highly recommend that whatever you do, please retain decent health insurance.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:35 PM on February 9, 2008
Also the lack of health insurance during my freelance years really hurt me for reasons I will not go into here, but I do highly recommend that whatever you do, please retain decent health insurance.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:35 PM on February 9, 2008
I've worked at a couple software companies, written shareware, and started a startup.
All of the previous jobs and shareware helped me get to the point I could start a company and get it funded.
I had some good publicity from the shareware packages I wrote (getting the random magazine where my software was mentioned or included on a cd from Japan was in some ways nicer than than any money I made from the programs.
When all was said and done I made a couple grand from shareware over the years. While I personally know some very successful shareware authors, they are few and far between.
My advice would be: If you current job really sucks get a new better job at a software startup. There you will learn not just 'how to get a good idea', but also how to run a business, sell and market products, etc.. Don't think about 'shareware, but think about a software company you can start.
In my opinion ideas are cheap, how they are executed is what matters.
12 months at a software company is a good amount of time to have on a resume, if you came in with that I wouldn't be worried about job hopping.
Be careful about the documents you sign when you start with a job. Depending on what they say, you may be be signing your inventions and ideas over to the company you are working with when you are working with them. That doesn't stop most people, but if you really have the next google, it may be a concern.
If you do go the shareware route, sign up with a payment processing company like Kagi or paypal, etc.. You will see a lot more money than trying to handle it yourself. Make sure you cripple or time out your software. It's rare for people to pay the money for it otherwise (though there are counter examples of course).
posted by bottlebrushtree at 12:31 AM on February 10, 2008
All of the previous jobs and shareware helped me get to the point I could start a company and get it funded.
I had some good publicity from the shareware packages I wrote (getting the random magazine where my software was mentioned or included on a cd from Japan was in some ways nicer than than any money I made from the programs.
When all was said and done I made a couple grand from shareware over the years. While I personally know some very successful shareware authors, they are few and far between.
My advice would be: If you current job really sucks get a new better job at a software startup. There you will learn not just 'how to get a good idea', but also how to run a business, sell and market products, etc.. Don't think about 'shareware, but think about a software company you can start.
In my opinion ideas are cheap, how they are executed is what matters.
12 months at a software company is a good amount of time to have on a resume, if you came in with that I wouldn't be worried about job hopping.
Be careful about the documents you sign when you start with a job. Depending on what they say, you may be be signing your inventions and ideas over to the company you are working with when you are working with them. That doesn't stop most people, but if you really have the next google, it may be a concern.
If you do go the shareware route, sign up with a payment processing company like Kagi or paypal, etc.. You will see a lot more money than trying to handle it yourself. Make sure you cripple or time out your software. It's rare for people to pay the money for it otherwise (though there are counter examples of course).
posted by bottlebrushtree at 12:31 AM on February 10, 2008
There is another possibility:
6. Make your job better. (And keep your side projects going at the same time).
When I was in your position, I stopped negotiating for what I wanted after a couple of early failures. This was a mistake - what I actually needed was to get better at negotiating. If you want to enjoy working for someone else, you have to exercise your right to show initiative and make respectful arguments for changes you want to see. By treating yourself like your own boss, and your manager like a customer you can keep yourself interested and engaged in what you're doing, and you'll likely be surprised at how much more fun work can be.
Start by figuring out a way to get hold of some better requirements. You might need to employ some psychology in order to actually persuade people to get in a room with you and work it out, but that's all part of the fun.
posted by teleskiving at 2:28 AM on February 10, 2008
6. Make your job better. (And keep your side projects going at the same time).
When I was in your position, I stopped negotiating for what I wanted after a couple of early failures. This was a mistake - what I actually needed was to get better at negotiating. If you want to enjoy working for someone else, you have to exercise your right to show initiative and make respectful arguments for changes you want to see. By treating yourself like your own boss, and your manager like a customer you can keep yourself interested and engaged in what you're doing, and you'll likely be surprised at how much more fun work can be.
Start by figuring out a way to get hold of some better requirements. You might need to employ some psychology in order to actually persuade people to get in a room with you and work it out, but that's all part of the fun.
posted by teleskiving at 2:28 AM on February 10, 2008
You have some cash, modest financial needs, and youth, so this is a relatively low risk decision. What it really comes down to is how good your skills are, what you're like to work with and whether you can maintain the motivation (the way you make it sound like you can't cope with anything in winter worries me).
If you're genuinely talented then I'd recommend spending part of your time freelancing and the rest on your own projects (to spread the risk and avoid isolation), but judge your own motivations and abilities harshly in case you're not quite ready. Equally, don't get put off by the kind of person whose idea of a great career is a dull, secure job in a big corporation; they can sit in their cubicles while you at least try for something more interesting.
posted by malevolent at 2:35 AM on February 10, 2008
If you're genuinely talented then I'd recommend spending part of your time freelancing and the rest on your own projects (to spread the risk and avoid isolation), but judge your own motivations and abilities harshly in case you're not quite ready. Equally, don't get put off by the kind of person whose idea of a great career is a dull, secure job in a big corporation; they can sit in their cubicles while you at least try for something more interesting.
posted by malevolent at 2:35 AM on February 10, 2008
+1 for teleskiving. (I tried to say that too, but you've expressed this point much better)
posted by Artful Codger at 7:58 AM on February 10, 2008
posted by Artful Codger at 7:58 AM on February 10, 2008
2. Ask to work 60% part-time on Monday morning (allowing me to slowly transition to self-employment). They'll probably say no though, because they need me too much.
This is a contradiction.
If they really "need you too much," they will be more than happy accommodate this modest request in return for not losing such a valuable employee. Google does it, for example, because their employees actually are the hotshots a lot of IT people seem to fancy themselves as. They get a day out of the week to work on personal projects. Why? Because finding good people is hard.
Seriously, have you even broached the subject with anyone, or are you just guessing?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:50 AM on February 10, 2008
This is a contradiction.
If they really "need you too much," they will be more than happy accommodate this modest request in return for not losing such a valuable employee. Google does it, for example, because their employees actually are the hotshots a lot of IT people seem to fancy themselves as. They get a day out of the week to work on personal projects. Why? Because finding good people is hard.
Seriously, have you even broached the subject with anyone, or are you just guessing?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:50 AM on February 10, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
You don't have to pursue any one of the options you listed up there, although out of all of them, #3 seems the most reasonable. You should start investigating other options and interests while still employed. You might try many times and fail, you might try something and it might send you on the road somewhere else. In the meantime, don't underestimate the wonderfulness of a steady paycheck. You might think you have enough for 10 months now, but is that including COBRA health care? That gets expensive and it wouldn't be smart to go without basic health insurance or at the very least, catastrophic coverage in case you have the misfortune of getting hit by a bus or something like that.
You sound like a perfect candidate to be a temp/consultant though. Have you investigated that? You could accept jobs on a case by case basis so you still have a choice and can turn down assignments if you need a block of time off. I have found this type of arrangement works best for me. I take off big blocks of time to pursue an art career, and sometimes I take interesting jobs. I keep my expenses and overhead very low because it gives me the most options to live under my means. Your resume might have holes in it, but if you are filling it with other things (published articles, etc) you will be fine. In my case my blocks of time haven't hurt me because I have something to show for it.
posted by 45moore45 at 6:00 PM on February 9, 2008