Ask HN: Late twenties, last four years spent fiddling w/projects. Employability?
Still, I am filled with dread. By my own evaluation, my progress has slow, and I feel like I could have accomplished 2-3x as much during my "sabbatical" if only I spent a bit less time procrastinating and forced myself into unfamiliar programming territory. (I perceive this as having wasted about 2-2.5 whole years out of this period.) I have a recurring, deep-seated fear that if my cash runs out and I have to re-enter the job market, I'll simply find myself unemployable. Although I'm almost 30, I don't really view myself as a senior engineer material; I can implement stuff just fine if given a blueprint, but my experience with high-level architectures and complicated, stateful systems is lacking. (Working on getting better at this, though. Lots of projects in the pipeline.) I also have zero managerial experience since I've been entirely working by myself. On the plus side, I have a CS degree from an excellent university, though I imagine the importance of this wanes as you get older.
HN, are my fears justified? Am I just falling into a bottomless pit, career-wise? Or is this stuff correctable?
16 comments
[ 6.3 ms ] story [ 65.3 ms ] threadI would think a github repo with 1000 stars would give you the opportunity to work with others. Maybe start accepting some pull requests, or join another open source project.
Otherwise, everything else that you mentioned seems like pretty run of the mill imposters syndrome. You built some products, and real users ended up using these products. That seems like some pretty solid experience right there.
Experience is what it all boils down to, and it sounds like you've got nice set of experiences to draw from which might set you apart from other candidates.
1. Would you want a contract gig or a salary position. If later, be sure to make sure you don’t sound like a drifter. Employers don’t want to invest time in someone that doesn’t plan to stay around at least a little while. 2. Can you do some contract gigs now to keep up skills and resume? 3. As for developing your own “hit”, I think the idea is more important than the tech stack
I had some success, then got obsessed with AI. After 1-2 years studying nonstop figuring out what to build I ran out of money and had to consult.
I would have made more money working full time... but perhaps not if my next project goes well.
That said, even with what I know now, I'm about to do it all again. The freedom is priceless.
Risk is scary. But going 9-5 to a job hoping for raises, good bosses, and stock liquidation events is even scarier IMO.
It took me a while to figure out my optimal "toolkit". Productivity-wise, my essentials are a Roost dock, Logitech wireless keyboard, and Logitech wireless gaming mouse. Working from cafés is really great now. (And my shoulder pain is gone!)
Productive travel advice: don't do hostels. Airbnbs are awesome, but only pick ones with private rooms that have a nice desk and chair. It's way more convenient than spending extra money on a coworking space (unless that's your thing). If you're planning to actually get work done, stay in a given city for at least two weeks, and preferably more than a month. Traveling to a new city always takes some adjustment.
I started with $100,000, but that's way more than you need. (I just didn't have very many expenses over the course of my SV career.) When I was Airbnb-traveling in Europe, I think I spent about $30,000-$35,000 a year when all was said and done. This was very comfortable living in Western Europe though, and I probably spent about half to two-thirds of my time eating out. You can definitely do $20,000 or less a year, especially if you visit cheaper countries, sublet places for at least a month, and cook for yourself more.
If you have more than, say, $10k in savings, put some of it in FDIC-insured accounts with ~1% returns (e.g. Ally), and invest some of it index funds (Vanguard). It's basically free money unless you happen to invest right before a major recession.
Be selective about opportunities and don’t underestimate the advantage of your position. Many people spend years employed dreaming about the sort of independence you’ve achieved.
When you start getting interviewed they'll ask why you're leaving self-employment and all you have to say is you tried running your own business, it didn't work out, and you want the stability of a full-time job again. That'll be about the extent of it.
References are a little trickier, I had some consulting clients that I'd done part-time work with, so had people to ask. To be honest, references are at the "we want you" stage so they're a bit more flexible.
The ultimate problem I found was being an employee is frustrating so I left full time again and switched to consulting instead.
Secondly, why not try for few interviews at good companies, and see how you like the feel - You might like it - If it does not work out well, you can always go back.
I view myself as probably a 4/10 at this point, really never having built a super complex application from start to finish. And that's the fear holding me back. However I feel it would light a big fire under me to improve in a lot of ways, be super efficient with my time, study hard and put it into practice. Any advice about this "imposter syndrome" feeling would be appreciated.