April 5, 2016 at 11:55 pm
Hi Lynn,
Working from home is hard. I do it now and then when a child has an appointment at the doctor's and when my wife is not at home. It is better to get 3 hours' work in in a morning than to have to take the whole morning off or to commute into work, work an hour and then come back again. I have also done it when I had a child sick at home in bed.
However, working from home is hard. I miss the company of others around me. I miss my two monitors. The place where you work has to be as tidy as if you were in your office otherwise distractions set in.
Kind regards,
Sean.
April 6, 2016 at 1:37 am
I agree, Sean. I like to have the option to work from home occasionally, but I think I'd go a bit mad on my own all day.
April 6, 2016 at 1:38 am
Sean Redmond (4/5/2016)
...Working from home is hard...
It is.
The following are essential to make it work:
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
April 6, 2016 at 1:49 am
Beatrix Kiddo (4/6/2016)
I agree, Sean. I like to have the option to work from home occasionally, but I think I'd go a bit mad on my own all day.
I did it for a few years. Having a good social life was essential.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
April 6, 2016 at 7:17 am
I like having the option to work at home some of the time. It does let me work around appointments, avoid heavy traffic days, etc. Wouldn't want to do it 100%. Even for some of the time work at home it's worth setting up a good work space (two or more monitors and a good chair at least!).
April 6, 2016 at 7:30 am
Does anyone have any advice on moving countries to work? It's something I'd like to do for a year or so before I'm 30, when I'll probably look to settle down. I'd ideally like to work somewhere I have friends such as Adelaide, but being in the UK that's quite a big step. Are employers generally willing to give overseas candidates a chance if they can prove their worth? How does it work with interviews etc? Do you need to get a visa and flight before you start applying?
Next year I'll be 25 with a BSc degree, 7 years experience and hopefully my MSCA, so if I'm not where I'd like to be in this job next year I'd like to move around.
April 6, 2016 at 7:50 am
Rod at work (4/5/2016)
I got caught up reading people's replies to this thread, when I realized that this thread indirectly points out something I feel most of us haven't experienced. That is, working from home. It's always been my dream to get up at about 7 AM, get my cup of coffee, log into work and start programming, designing apps, writing SQL scripts, etc. wearing only my pajamas. But the reality is that such positions are I still believe, exceedingly rare. I know of two SQL Server experts, most likely both on these forums, who work for an out-of-state company involved in trucking. Both of these gentlemen work from home. But I get the feeling that company doesn't even really have a headquarters or "main office" anywhere. I think everyone who works for them is scattered all over the country, working from their homes. Probably there's a post office box somewhere for tax purposes and so they can be incorporated, but that's it. Although some people (DBA's, programmers, etc.) are able to work from home, that's still I believe a small percentage.
I worked at home part of the time when I was at Neos. Being responsible for the technical side of the company I was dealing with Neos employees in London, in Mumbai, in Dubai, and in Beirut, managing our subcontractors in Chennai (and for a couple of years spending a quarter of my time there), talking with customers in UK, India Middle East, and Carribean, and dealing with suppliers all over the place; whether I was in our London office or in Chennai a large part of my work required interaction with people who were not where I was, now and again I would spend a week or two working from home. I could do that rather less after the board chose not to renew the CEO's contract and also chose not to replace him, so that the company was headless for a while and the employees looked to me for direction - I would have felt guilty at not being on hand for people to hold onto.
And my contracts with the CEC in the late 90s included some work from home - some were partly at home and partly at one of the commission's Brussels offices, but one was wholly at home and some were wholly in Brussels.
Working at home all the time except for a couple of weeks a year is a different game, though - I've never done that although I've known a few people who did. That used to be pretty common in development back in the 70s. It allowed us to retain competent staff who couldn't come into the office often for one reason or another (eg looking after young children or wanting to live in a place outside of any possibility of commuting).
Tom
April 6, 2016 at 7:51 am
We have open positions for SQL Server DBAs and Database Developers (v2008 - v2016), if anyone is interested in the North Atlanta area, specially Kennesaw/Marietta. Good job market, affordable housing, lots of parks and cross-metro bicycle tracks. Reply here by SSC private message if you're interested.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
April 6, 2016 at 7:59 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (4/5/2016)
Was in SF last week. It's crazy expensive. I don't even like staying there when I visit. I've gotten to the point I'll stay near the airport or E bay and commute if I can.
The company I was working for about 15 years ago sent me out there for a couple weeks (San Mateo specifically) for some BI training. I would fly back to the midwest on the weekend. It cost them about $20k just for those two weeks and a big chunk of that was the $500 a night hotels that were nothing special. That place is certainly beautiful but it's not the only place. It's apparently the agreed upon meeting place for a lot of talent though which I don't quite understand either.
April 6, 2016 at 8:40 am
tindog, do it while you're young. Do not wait.There are loads more visas open to people under 30 than over, and the older you get, the harder it gets.
There's a website called British Expats which is a good place to start (although the forums are often populated by... interesting types).
April 6, 2016 at 8:48 am
Beatrix Kiddo (4/6/2016)
tindog, do it while you're young. Do not wait.There are loads more visas open to people under 30 than over, and the older you get, the harder it gets.There's a website called British Expats which is a good place to start (although the forums are often populated by... interesting types).
Thankyou Beatrix, I'll have a look at the website when I get home.
I do really want to do it sooner rather than later, I think I'll regret it if I don't. But at the same time I really love the job I'm in now, and I think that's making me hesitant!
April 6, 2016 at 8:49 am
Hi tindog,
I have only looked for work in a few countries and most of them in Europe.
In my experience, employers are primarily interested in the talent that they can afford. If you can do the job within the salary constraints set for the job, they are immediately predisposed to you. As a foreigner, you come with some disadvantages, such as paperwork (there is a lot of bureaucracy involved in hiring foreign nationals) and the grasp of the language (as appropriate) amongst others. If there are other local candidates who are as qualified as you, then may get preference (often a legal requirement). It comes down to personality and luck of the draw at interview-time as well as the local legal requirements.
Many of the Germanic countries and Japan love official bits of paper (diplomas, certificates and the like), official references and a detailed CV. MCPs and the like are very positively viewed here. These countries may also want an application letter that demonstrably shows that you want to work with the company in question. Often these need to be serious in tone and some of them look like parodies of themselves in English-speaking countries.
I hope that that in some regard helps,
Sean.
April 6, 2016 at 8:53 am
I do really want to do it sooner rather than later, I think I'll regret it if I don't. But at the same time I really love the job I'm in now, and I think that's making me hesitant!
On the one hand I'd say that if you love your job, NEVER LEAVE IT :-D, BUT companies get bought up, managers leave, etc. etc. so at some point you will probably want to move on. Even so, emigrating (even only temporarily) takes a while to arrange (at least a few months, sometimes several years) so you may as well find out if you're eligible (and what you can do if you're not), and set the ball rolling.
April 6, 2016 at 8:55 am
Sean Redmond (4/6/2016)
Hi tindog,I have only looked for work in a few countries and most of them in Europe.
In my experience, employers are primarily interested in the talent that they can afford. If you can do the job within the salary constraints set for the job, they are immediately predisposed to you. As a foreigner, you come with some disadvantages, such as paperwork (there is a lot of bureaucracy involved in hiring foreign nationals) and the grasp of the language (as appropriate) amongst others. If there are other local candidates who are as qualified as you, then may get preference (often a legal requirement). It comes down to personality and luck of the draw at interview-time as well as the local legal requirements.
Many of the Germanic countries and Japan love official bits of paper (diplomas, certificates and the like), official references and a detailed CV. MCPs and the like are very positively viewed here. These countries may also want an application letter that demonstrably shows that you want to work with the company in question. Often these need to be serious in tone and some of them look like parodies of themselves in English-speaking countries.
I hope that that in some regard helps,
Sean.
Thankyou Sean, that is helpful. Fortunately I'm quite good at pushing myself into opportunities (my current employers didn't want to interview me initially due to my lack of experience for the role) so hopefully that will come in handy!
Do you think it would be better to apply from within the country, or apply from outside and move once a job is secured? The latter option is safer, but I wonder if, with savings, the former option would give me better opportunities?
April 6, 2016 at 8:56 am
Beatrix Kiddo (4/6/2016)
I do really want to do it sooner rather than later, I think I'll regret it if I don't. But at the same time I really love the job I'm in now, and I think that's making me hesitant!
On the one hand I'd say that if you love your job, NEVER LEAVE IT :-D, BUT companies get bought up, managers leave, etc. etc. so at some point you will probably want to move on. Even so, emigrating (even only temporarily) takes a while to arrange (at least a few months, sometimes several years) so you may as well find out if you're eligible (and what you can do if you're not), and set the ball rolling.
This is true! Anything could change, and I'd hate to regret staying.
Viewing 15 posts - 46 through 60 (of 144 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply