March 16, 2004 | View Comments (58) | Category: Our Thoughts
Summary: Scrivs is looking for a job because he punked out on the freelance world.
It finally happened. I could feel it slowly coming along last week. Clients have burned me out or the process of running one's own business has burned me out or the lack of funds because I probably do not charge clients enough for the projects has burned me out. In any case I am looking for a job in the Tampa Bay area. Am I ashamed to admit that I could not hold my own? Of course not. I just am tired of dealing with clients and I understood the chances I was taking when going on my own. I have learned so much however in this short amount of time that I am sure in no time I will be back in the "do it myself" grind again. I think next time though I will have a couple of partners along for the ride.
Maybe it is the need to seek a new challenge. I have always had this problem of bouncing around from thing to thing. I call it "living life".
I have gone from tech support to network admin to server admin to DBA to programmer to web designer and I made the transition every time because I followed my interests at the time. Now that I am almost done with my Masters I admit that I am looking for a something a little bit more than web design. Maybe Project Management where I get to play and dabble somewhat in all different areas while dealing with arrogant little programmers and designers instead of clients :)
To run your own company or freelance it requires a certain drive within the individual. I took a mini-vacation last week and when I came back that drive has all but left me. If there was another person then I think it would be easier for someone to keep pushing you and to also handle some of the tasks that you do not like. Or you could alternate the tasks from project to project.
I had the same drive when it came to blogging and setting up this whole network of sites. Goals keep driving you towards a goal and I have reached all of them for this part of my life. I helped teach a couple people about standards. Developed a semi-popular blog along with a semi-popular web resource. Made some enemies and some friends. Got laughed at and thrown some respect. Learned a lot. No worries though, I will continue this site because it is an extension of me in some sick, geeky way.
I have always been one to enjoy new challenges. As a contract programmer I got more than enough challenges in my daily routine that I would not mind going back at all. As a web designer the challenges sometimes are non-existent due to the constraints of the client's project. Other times the challenge can be great as in "How the hell am I supposed to pull this off?"
In any case I am looking for a new challenge. I will not hide the fact that the benefits of a full-time job such as regular, consistent pay, insurance, and some 401K action are not slowly sucking me back into the darkside.
Anyone in the Tampa Bay area who knows of any jobs that they think I would be interested in I am all ears. Pretty much anything to do with computers in some way. Actually, anything but tech support sounds about right. Some potential jobs (to show my range)
Ha, kind of reads like those Monster ads I made fun of not too long ago. Salary is highly negotiable, since environment, people, and benefits play a huge role in the decision. I speak from experience.
If you have been relatively successful with your own company for some time, why do you think that is? If you stayed in the corporate world, what keeps you from going solo? That is all for now. Got some more crazy news coming tomorrow.
Trackback URL: http://9rules.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/177
Good luck!
Try and get something corporate rather than with a design shop. It's valuable experience from the other side of things, plus you can still run your design business on the side without it being a conflict of interest.
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
I can agree with you completely on the getting burnt out. I did the same, with a partner though. Ironically, we decided to move on just when things were starting to look really good. Trying to balance too many different responsibilities became a little too overwhelming. So now we just chalk it up to experience and move on.
And I also agree with not taking projects just because you need the money. In my experience, that applies whether you're doing small or large projects. In the long run the toll it takes is much worse than going without the extra money.
I knew going into it that I was too young and inexperienced, but given the job market at the time, it seemed like the thing to do.
I ended up making a compromise and working for a smaller company where I still get to play a large part, but didn't have to play all the parts.
We're in Dallas though, so we probably can't help too much with the job search. Good luck though!
Garrett Dimon (http://www.brightcorner.com)
Paul (G), you may want to read "You must be crazy" by Barry Moltz. Highly recommended if you're about to start off on your own. Very practical and a quick and easy read.
Jeremy C. Wright (http://www.ensight.org)
Heck, maybe you should move to texas, Paul... it seems like half the people who post here live there, and many of them in the same part of the same town! Maybe you could join the happy family!
uh, and save a spot for me, too, it's bloody freezing up here today.
:-)
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
I am in Dallas too :) Not much to do here, but lots of great jobs!
Josh Dura (http://www.joshdura.com)
Web design or development can get a bit boring if you work at the same level for awhile. I've been through some changes, and now with fiftyfoureleven, where there are a few of us, I'm somewhere different and even *that* is evolving! Keeps it interesting...
Best of luck, can't wait to see tomorrow's post...
Mike P. (http://www.fiftyfoureleven.com.com/sandbox/weblog/)
If I were to move anywhere right now I think it would have to be California. Scrivs and cold weather are just a bad combination.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
I really admire people who have the guts to try starting their own business. I don't know if I could ever do it - it seems like such a scary leap into the unknown, no security or safety net to catch you.
It's nice to not have to worry about health insurance, sales, marketing, accounting, etc. All I have to focus on is my own UI programming.
Jennifer Grucza (http://jennifergrucza.com)
Ha! We should start a "Paul: Move to Texas" campaign.
Dallas/Fort Worth is pretty heavy web/tech area, but I rather hate both of those cities. It's a personal choice.
Houston is pretty industry specific (oil, big business, international companies). Though my inclination is to say that it is more tech than design oriented will get some feathers ruffled, I still think it is true after living here for four years.
Now, Austin. That's the place to be. Perfect combination of creative and tech environments, lots of small businesses, and Sandra Bullock lives there.
However, I will be living in San Antonio soon, so that is where Paul should move. It's an emerging market, perfect for startups, and I own lingerie.
Alanna (http://www.expio.net)
And it's warm, too, right Alanna?
Is it near anyplace where "spring break" occurs? I think that's the only thing that will lure Paul away.
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
haha yeah! South Padre Island!!! One of the greatest Spring Break places :)
Josh Dura (http://www.joshdura.com)
Seems like a lot of people are getting burned out of late, including me.
I'm not to the point of really jumping out there though. I have been thinking of going solo. Though for me, solo means a small design shop. Not sure if I want to start my own or join one.
One truism in all this work, no matter where you do it (and I think you allude this point in this post) is that no matter where you go you will still be underpaid and have to deal with people who want more than you are able (or allowed) to give.
What's your degree in? Maybe you could design some new voting ballots? :) Sorry for the cheap joke.
Matthew Oliphant (http://usabilityworks.typepad.com)
I have a Masters in Management Information Systems which means that I am a great kisser...at least that is the only thing I have gotten out of it so far. Seriously though the stuff I talk about here really does not go into depth the knowledge about other segments of the industry that I am aware of.
Florida does need to learn how to count, but hey I counted right when it came to Version 2!
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Jeremy, thanks for the recommendation, I will check it out. We're planning on incorporating within a few months, but we haven't worked out all the details yet. It'll mainly be "on the side" work until/unless it becomes a viable means of support.
Moving on, it's been quite a while since I've been in San Antonio, but I remember absolutely loving that town. If you've read my site's colophon,
then you know I have lived in Texas before (with unpleasant results) but I think that was just a crappy town. I could definitely see myself in San Antonio or Corpus Christi. I've never visited Austin, but I've heard good things.
In the meantime, FL is definitely the place for me. Much like Scrivs, I don't particularly like cold weather. Guess I just have too strong of a beach bum streak in me to stomach the thought of living someplace cold and beachless.
Paul G (http://www.relativelyabsolute.com)
Hey, we have beaches up here... really nice ones on Lake Michigan.
Only problem is half the year you get to ice skate at the beach....
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
[Alanna]..."I own lingerie..."
Who needs Florida's spring break? When you can have San Antonio and lingerie?
Good luck in your job search. Good news is today I heard on the news that this Spring season is the best looking for job hiring in over 3 years.
A suggestion - Have you considered refocusing whitespace (or even creating a new blog) that speaks specifically to your experience points as outlined in your post?
Something like that might be useful as an addendum to your resume.
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
On Texas -
Paul -
San Antonio rocks - arguably the most beautiful city in the hill country of Texas. I'd choose San Antonio over Austin any day.
Austin's outlying areas are beautiful, but the city is growing at such a pace that traffic congestion in the city is about to match that of Houston or Dallas.
Alanna -
I would agree with you generally about Houston, but it really does have a considerable art community. There are also several web design agencies here which are quite reknown.
I think Dallas and Austin got hit pretty hard after the bubble. Still a considerable amount of work going on there, however.
San Padre - Florida only wishes they had a Spring Break
If you're looking for warm weather, Texas kicks California's ass. Last time I was in California, I had to wear a sweatshirt in August.
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
So Paul... do you have your resume (too lazy to type accents) up online? maybe we can help you tweak it? :-)
And you know, the #1 way to find a job is networking... with your resume (contact info for references & former employers available only on serious request for privacy's sake, of course) out on the web, some of your fans here may take it upon themselves to show said resume to their employer prior to contacting you with information about a potential opening.
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
I can't blame you for wanting to join the darkside. This past year, I did only freelance web development for 6 months. While I enjoyed making my own hours, I quickly tired of dealing with clients and stressing over when and if the next paycheck would come.
Now that I'm back on the darkside, I have a project manager that deals with the clients, and I'm left to do the coding and pick up the checks. Ahhhh. :)
I do still have a few of my freelance clients, but that's a whole other can of worms...
theresa (http://www.dandelionwine.org)
JC - Thanks, but no thanks. A beach on a lake just isn't a beach to me. If I'm not in constant danger of being bitten, stung, impaled, envenomated, or otherwise maimed by a dangerous creature, I really just can't enjoy myself at the beach. Of course, in Florida, swimming in a lake means you avoid sharks, cudas, eels, stingrays et al, but take your chances with gators, snappers, catfish (which have some painful barbs, lemme tell ya'), leeches, etc., so I suppose that's why I'm right at home there, too.
For the record, I've been far too close (within inches or physically touching, usually inadvertently) to very large gators, venomous snakes, barracudas, sting rays, and very large, cranky eels in my lifetime, I should probably stop tempting fate.
Anyway, you northerers can keep your winter wonderland, I'm going to swim laps in my outdoor pool when I get off work. It's almost 80 degrees today. *thbbbtt* ;)
Paul G (http://www.relativelyabsolute.com)
Oh, and JC is right on the money about networking. I have yet to get a job that didn't come about because I knew someone who put in a good word for me. I have never been hired (not counting bagging groceries when I was a teenager) for a job that I found through the "normal" channels. They're usually a waste of time.
I think you're definitely on the right track by using your blog to solicit possible job openings, the web can be one of the fastest and best ways to network, especially when you already have a decent-sized readership.
Paul G (http://www.relativelyabsolute.com)
I certainly wouldn't mind shooting my resume out to anyone who is willing to glance it over, but I think I will keep the "posting live" technique for another day.
San Diego is what I am talking about if I move to Cali. 70 degrees year round, but expensive as hell.
San Antonio, Alanna, lingerie...hmmmm, tempting. Of course who is to say I don't have all that and more here ;) If anyone wants to visit Tampa, I can take you down to Ybor and show you what a good time is all about.
It really has been a long time since I had a full-time job. Everything else I get seems to go through some contracting agencies. The only place I could network here is on the web I think simply because the people I hangout with are ummm, not necessarily the professional types.
Great conversation going on so far and thanks to everyone for their wishes.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
I'm sure you don't have a self-proclaimed web design slut who wants to have sex with your web pages there in florida. :-)
I have a few friends in the San Diego area, but they're all non-techie. Gov't employees, mostly.
Re: networking, didn't you join any business groups when you were trying to expand your business? I know you'd talked about it and been advised about it at great length in an earlier post... maybe a contact there can help? But there's nothing wrong with web networking, especially in our fields.
I'd be happy to look at the resume. Maybe I'll get more ideas for mine. :-) (not that I'm looking... just figured it was time to update it)
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
True, Paul. I'm sure my miniscule lingerie collection could never compete against yours. :-P
Ditto on the California thing. Though I'm pretty open to living anywhere there except LA.
Alanna (http://www.virginmoistness.com)
I will admit to having my fair share of women throw their underwear my way...but I just keep them for memories, never to wear...seriously...no really...
Hell, maybe I should be a standup comedian...or a model :-P
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Here ya go, my freebie for the day -
Hey Alanna,
If you're so hot to show off that lingerie, how about walking across the street? I'll be happy to give Paul a man's opinion of what he's missing out on. ;)
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
Hey Paul... I've got news for you... those aren't women you're buying from on ebay, they're college janitors and assorted dirty old men who go into dorm and apartment laundry rooms and rifle through the girls' washers... and if you were 'thrown' a green gingham thong, it's my little sister's best friend's and she wants it back. hehehe
Alanna -- I'm just looking out for your best interests. Or something. :-)
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
Mark. Wait a second. You want me to trot across Westheimer and Fountain View in nothing but my skivvies?
Will you also pay for my funeral? :)
JC, just think of the web soap opera of our romance if I should revert to using font tags and tables. Oh, the drama!
Alanna (http://www.virginmoistness.com)
Sooo... web design really gets you women?
My world perception has been torn asunder.
And I just realized I must be doing something terribly wrong...
Sergio (http://overcaffeinated.net)
Actually Alanna, I'd have the traffic cop who stands down here at Fountainview control the situation, so you could get across safely.
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
Sergio, I'm sorry to have torn your world perception asunder. Let me go ahead and tape it back up again: I have it on good authority that I am a minority of my sex. Six of a kind, if you will. Good luck finding the other five as five of us are too busy recoding our websites in valid xhtml/css with an eye toward section 508 to leave the computer for any great length of time. And the other one is too busy with her porn career.
Mark, your kindness continues to astound me!
Alanna (http://www.expio.net)
Sergio, try nakkidnerds.com. I can't for the life of me remember how I found that link, but maybe it'll help you put your world back together.
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
Sergio, try nakkidnerds.com
Well, that just won't do. They don't even use valid xhtml transitional! And all those horrid tables. At least suicidegirls done did it right.
Alanna (http://www.expio.net)
Paul (and anyone else) -
This is a great article regarding web design-vs-metrics.
I post this here because I think this is a good approach if looking for a job as a web developer / designer.
In this specific case - Paul, I think if you can show how you increased the metrics of whitespace and your other sites over a relatively short period by creating a community, designing nice looking sites...you'll have an advantage over other job seekers.
Alanna - Kindness has nothing to do with it. I want to see you back up all this teasing with some action.
Consider it a double-dog dare.
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
I am taking a break from class so I will throw in some quick points:
Mark: Thanks for the job tip. I am on it tonight.
Alanna: What the hell did I tell you about teasing all the lonely guys here?
Sergio: Hey man you won an award yesterday, your world is rockin right now.
To the people who just read this crazy conversation: We need more women getting involved in this community.
Mark, great advice on applying the metrics and it is something that I have done in the past with some great results and will continue to look further into for the future.
Scrivs (http://9rules.com/whitespace/)
Scrivs
If you don't mind swapping Tampa for wet and windy Wales, you can always come and work with us! Anytime, just gimme a call :)
Of course you will need to learn to love sheep...
Malarkey (http://www.malarkey.co.uk)
Of course you will need to learn to love sheep...
Does that joke even need to be made? :)
Alanna
I shall work on finding the other four girls, Alanna (I'd include Asia, but she's married). Oh yes I shall.
Good luck Scrivs! If you do like sheep, the UK sounds fab, doesn't it?
Sergio (http://overcaffeinated.net)
Alanna -- Exactly! as you said above.. they're busy recoding into valid xhtml. :-)
JC (http://http;//www.thelionsweb.com/weblog)
"Anyone in the Tampa Bay area who knows of any jobs that they think I would be interested in I am all ears."
You need to move to Silicon Valley. Or at least seriously consider it. If you do, I'll pass you word on plenty of folks I know who are looking for good web technical types (mostly front end) with strong design skills.
Andrei Herasimchuk (http://www.designbyfire.com)
Sorry, Mark. I'm only a tease.
Paul: What did you tell me? Uhm... to keep teasing all the lonely guys so you receive more hits and attain world domination?
Alanna (http://www.virginmoistness.com)
Andrei: Wow, mad appreciation there man. I will definitely have to give that some thought.
To everyone else, muchos gracias. Glad to see I got some virtual friends out there helping a loser like myself.
Alanna: So many things I could say right now...so many...
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Malarkey; Wales?? Nice to meet a fellow welshman!
Alanna; Tease has just become an understatement.
Scrivs; Good luck with the Job Search. With what you have going on at the moment, I dont expect you to wait long before you get something. Maybe you should drop Zeldman an email, and remind him of your lovely post about his site??
phil baines (http://www.wubbleyew.com/blog/)
Paul,
"The stars at night are big and bright..."
I'd quit my job right now if you move to Texas (Dallas area) and go into business with me. I'd do all the stuff you don't want to do and I'd get you coffee, too:)
I'd love to do web design/development full-time working for my own company but it is just so hard to pass up the base pay, benefits and stability of my job now. Not to mention the yearly bonus that reached 5 digits this past year. That's hard to replace doing web design at another company. And very hard to replace when you're going solo.
My only hope is find someone to partner with that can compliment my skill set (I'm not a programmer).
There's alot to be said for getting to do what you do best everyday and doing what you enjoy at the same time.
I get to do that about 85% of the time at my job, which for now is enough to keep me happy - until the next PowerPoint presentation comes along :).
Good luck on finding a job, Paul. I don't doubt you'll be able to find something easily. You've got talent and passion. Those are things you can't teach.
/cm
cm (http://telerana.f2o.org)
Scrivs, good luck job hunting. I've been looking for a new job in the Orlando area (ASP.Net, Web Developer, C# developer, etc.) for almost a year and there's nothing here.
I noticed that there did seem to be more opportunites for someone with my experience in Tampa and Jacksonville (not my favorite Florida city BTW) but I don't know what's going on there now. (Been working on selling and buying a new house, so the job search has been back-burnered for the moment.)
Best of luck!
James
The funny thing about C# development jobs in Tampa is that they always seem to ask for 3 years experience. Who knew it has even been out that long?! Anyways, there are always tons of jobs like that around here, but they are usually just contract positions, which is something that I am trying to stay away from...like for the rest of my life.
Glad everyone seems to be more optimisitic about me getting a job than I am.
I was at Bennigans last night (oooo, St. Patrick's Day party there today...gotta jet soon :) and I happened to come across 3 English ladies and I asked them about Wales...interesting place from what I hear.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
I find it interesting that you are taking this route because I am in the corporate world, with the steady income and the benefits, etc. But I always dream of starting my own business.
A lot of people say you should start working in someone else's business before you work for yourself. Do you think if you did it that route, you wouldn't be so burned out?
Lea (http://xox.lealea.net/)
Lea, I'm in the same boat. I would love to work freelance but the jobs are so few and far between here. I have used Aquent before and they were decent for contract work.
Todd (http://www.monkeyhouselounge.com/loungeact/)
I think what burned me out was having to do all the administrative type stuff such as accounting and keeping up with the clients, while also having to focus on design. That is why I mentioned getting an accountant no matter what size you are.
Another issue is focusing on continually builing up a log of projects. At times I would work on something and neglect the fact that I needed to keep others lined up right afterwards so I would go weeks at a time without stuff to do.
Finally, at the moment I just get tired of sitting at home by myself without anyone to talk to. As a programmer surrounded by other people it was always a blast conversing and working at the same time.
I get plenty of mini-projects due to this site, but nothing to buy a house with so to speak. I must also mention that I have two other businesses starting up with partners that I am looking forward to, but would require much less time than doing something on my own.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Geez, I leave for a day and this whole section goes bonkers with talk of lingerie and moving to Wales...what the hell happened here? ;)
>...all the administrative type stuff such as accounting and keeping up with the clients...
Yeesh. I don't relish all that administrivia, but I need to get better at it. The only way to do that is to do it more.
James: In my opinion, the best thing Jacksonville has going for it is the beach, Freebird Cafe, and its proximity to St. Augustine. Jacksonville's not my favorite town, but I have lived in much worse places.
Paul G (http://www.relativelyabsolute.com)
Time flies on Whitespace, the fastest blog on the web. Hmmm, I like that.
Jacksonville, St. Augustine? Come on, we all know the action is here on the West Coast of FL.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Interesting place? is that what they called Wales?
Yes, sure, if you find rain interesting!
Well, actually, it is a beautiful country, anf very green. Also, the web business is being taken up very well all over the place, with little design shops, and agencies popping up all over.
Well, we have to find something to do now that all our mines are closed down!
;)
Phil Baines (http://www.wubbleyew.com/blog)
Scrivs: I'll agree that it's better than northeast FL. I don't have any great love for Jacksonville, other than the fact that it's where I was born. St. Aug is very relaxing, I like to go pub-hopping down there, down a few pints, and listen to some live jazz on the weekends.
Now, if partying hard is your thing, Gainesville's the city for you. ;)
Paul G (http://www.relativelyabsolute.com)
Vinnie Garcia (http://blog.vinniegarcia.com)
Hmmm, that was weird, my last comment got cut out. Anyway Scrivs, I may have a possibility for you as an ASP.NET developer in Tampa. Email me sometime soon and I'll try to get some details for you.
Vinnie Garcia (http://blog.vinniegarcia.com)
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#1
Funny, I'm currently in the process of forming a corporation with a long-time buddy of mine, mainly because I'm not real thrilled with corporate life these days, and I'd like to be my own boss for a while.
It's sort of interesting to see someone on the other end of that journey. I'm really hoping that our little venture will take off, and I'll be able to quit my job and let my money work for me instead of the other way around (ouch, that sounded catch-phrase-y), but we'll just have to see how it goes, right?
I've done (and will likely continue, albeit under the umbrella of a corporation) a bit of freelance web work here and there, but it gets tiresome when a project drags and drags while I wait on the client to provide some necesary piece of info or make a decision. It's also hard to keep my passion and interest up when I spend all day doing the same thing at my regular job. I'm thinking that a change of profession would probably rekindle my love of web design. Here's hoping.
Oh, and good luck with your search, the market seems to be perking up a bit, but it's still a chore to find something decent.
Paul G (http://www.relativelyabsolute.com)