It has occurred to me recently that I really don’t like working. I’m in 3rd year university now and I’ve been on a few semesters of interships, doing real development work (not pouring coffee). I noticed that I’m not focused at work, but I am while I’m working on my own projects at home. I seem to procrastinate a lot, even though this work is actually pretty interesting. Then I think I came to the conclusion that, on principle, I don’t like the idea of working for somebody else, implementing their ideas, and realizing their vision of the world.
I know going to university (and possibly grad school) for a lot of people is mostly getting prepared for work. Interships build experience and look worthy of gloat on resumes. The thing is I like university and taking classes, not because I wanted to get a grasp of what’s necessary for a job but rather I like learning new things and seeing connections and rationale behind the worldly things we observe and use everyday. I have ideas and a vision of what I want for this world, I really don’t see why I should be spending my precious time concentrating on other people’s efforts when I clearly prefer mine better.
That said, I’m not going to quit my current internship job or drop out of university to pursue after a dream. I don’t detest working for somebody else, but I prefer following my own lead.
What options do I have? I don’t plan on sitting on the street corner in downtown asking for change. One thing that I can think of is perhaps do academic research in a university after doing PhD. I would have some flexibility over what I do and eventually lead my own research. But even my grandma knows professors get paid about just as much as the guy sitting on the street corner (before tenure anyway). I actually want to pursue after a lavishing life.
Anybody have some advice or stories? I would really be interested in hearing them. I’d prefer something practical, as opposed too general and meant to inspire…
Entrepreneurship is always a possible path to consider, especially while you are young and likely don’t have anyone depending on you. Even that is rather general advice though, I know. You’re a comp sci major right? You mentioned you’d like to teach or conduct academic research. I wouldn’t let the pay deter you from pursuing that path though. Depending on exactly what you want to do after academia, you can always be active in both the corporate realm and the academic realm. Hell, even the political realm.
After many years in and out of my computing career I have arrived at the conclusion that it’s not computing as a job that I dislike but having to work at an office, with a rigid timetable.
Of course, to get experience and know how going through a paid job as an employee at an office might be the only way at first.
Cheers
Meh, you could work at a university and work in the same template file day after day, it really sparks the creativity :).
Seriously though do you see yourself doing this for a long time (I of course figured out that web development wasn’t my thing before university… pays the bills now, but not something I could do my entire life). Hopefully your degree was very broad and you had a good minor to fall back on?
I think you should start something completely off the wall like, FREE video streaming company, maybe name it something w/ the word tube in it and then hope google buys you out.
Also, in more cases than not, you’re gonna be subject to working for someone else no matter what. I can’t think of one job that someone isn’t working for someone else actually.
Entrepreneurship FTW. Remember though, that even if you don’t have a ‘boss’, your customers are still ultimately your ‘boss’. Freelancing is rewarding, but tough. Maybe you haven’t found your niche yet - I thought that NASA was mine, but I’m a lot happier now in the private sector.
i’m the exact same way. i hate working. no, i like to work. i hate getting up in the morning. i hate having a place to go and a person (sometimes persons) to answer to. i hate having to sit in a ****ty office chair in some ****ty office. i hate the idea behind it all. working 40+ hours straight only to get 48 to myself? how does that Math work out?
so yea, i’ve spent the last 6 years of my life tramping around new york design firms. freelancing for places long enough for me to get tired of being there. meeting people that i can take anywhere with me as a freelancer. it takes a good amount of time to stand on your own two feet but it’s just like running a business with one person. it starts to take off.
now, 6 years later, i call all my own shots. when times are slow and my own clients aren’t working a ton of projects i use an agency to place me in short term situations. the money is great, if you work enough average hours you get insurance and when you’re tired of the place you make like a tree.
it’s great - i only hope as i get older and do this longer that i’ll gain even more control of my own life…
took time tho. starving artist is a real term and it doesn’t just apply to painters. i had to work at agencies to make friends before i could strike out on my own… luckily there are places like www.aquent.com to help people like us out.
What blue said. I’ve been doing web development for years now and i’m currently finishing my 1st year in university.
I’ve had my doubts about the whole web thing as well but what I really dislike is the university part - school in general actually. I spent 3 long years in high school waiting for it to be over so I could have more time for my own projects and now I find myself in a university in the same situation X_x.
I’ve started to handle all work projects as if the were my ‘own projects’ and try to get the best out of them to make them more interesting and so far it has worked nicely Not that web development has become dull but I just wish I had time to explore other areas.
Starting my own business is also something that’s on the back side of my todo list. I kinda share the pain of working for somebody else, but I think that’s mainly because I’m working for a web development company where I’m the only one who gives a crap about accessibility, standards and security (and am trying to educate others but it’s a tough crowd).
I think starting your own company is definitely something worth trying - all you need is a fairly good idea. Paul Graham’s essays are a pretty interesting read on this subject (http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html)
MTsoul, Clearly you have the profile of an enterpreneur…
a couple of years ago I felt exactly like you. I was confused, I was ending my second Technical Engineering Degree (specialized in design) at the university and I was taking contact with the work world… After working in 2 design companies (with CAD/CAM systems and heavy machinery) I was really disappointed, since I studied one thing and I was doing things completely different in that companies and I was working for others, spending my time, my life, making my boss rich…
I felt like a robot and I thought a lot, then I decided to change my direction (you can always change your direction). So I focused my efforts doing something I really love with passion (webdesign and mobile communications) and I started working in a nice an idea (a business opportunity). I swear to study and work only with things that could help me in the development of my idea…
Nowadays, all the mornings I work in a webhosting company, and in the afternoon I’m finishing my idea. In this moment I’m building my bussines plan and I have to give it before July 24…
First I was scared but now, after this last year, I know that I’ll never be happy if I dont do what I want to do: make real my idea and work all the rest of my life without bosses, and doin things related with my 2 real passions… :jailbreak:
Keep in mind that there is no better time to get into entrepreneurship than now, as an early poster said, you have no dependants.
My father is at heart quite similar to you (and I believe I am too - that or just unmotivated. :P) but because he was in a family situation quite early, only a few years after he started working actually, that he was unable to begin work on his entrepreneurship until now. He’s 47.
Not too old, but its much harder. He has to budget very carefully and use up all of his massive savings to keep the quality of life for us the same. And we’re living in the Bay Area, one of the most expensive areas of the US to live in. He’s had to sacrifice a ton - not to mention the fact that this year he has to start paying for my uni tuition. Luckily USC gave me a huge needbased grant, I bless their financial aid department.
The point is, take advantage of your situation while you can - you seem to have the right mindset and the right motive to do it. I certainly will be when I get out of college.
man your so lucky to actually study programming in a university, I wish I had got that chance, anyway I’d go for the PhD and do some research or something like that, because it’s something that will always be valuable, other things like, say entrepreneurship especially in the web, probably wont be as lucrative as it is now in the near future, and, in my opinion, it’s the knowledge thats the most important in the long run.
not sure this males any sense.
Not necessarily, depends on the university I think :beam:
I’m studying something called Business Information technology. There are quite a bunch of programming classes (basically these are the stuff that forms the ‘information technology’ part)
Half of the teachers here have no idea what they’re talking about. And some of the methods they’re teaching are either just plain wrong or something I just happen to disagree with. So it kindof takes the fun out of it all, if there’s supposed to be any in it in the first place.
I have learned some things though. (For example CREATE and ALTER TABLE clauses in SQL, which I just haven’t felt the need to learn on my own - phpmyadmin usually takes care of those for me ;))
But all in all I’m pretty sure there’s nothing you can learn in a university that you can’t learn on your own (in the context of programming and such)
But then again, learning something you totally have no interest in isn’t that fun either I can imagine
