How long did you think you'd contract for?

[aussielong]

Go for shipping fast and iterating. The days of spending a couple of years perfecting something before shipping are over; while you make it perfect, somebody will have exactly the same idea, code the bare essentials, and have it running online or sitting in an App Store within a month. By the time you ship the perfect version in a couple of years, they'll have been earning the cash that let them make theirs even more perfect, and yours will be dismissed as a clone.

Agreed. I was thinking more about devoting a couple of years getting to the point of making a modest living from this, not to get to my first release. If I was on it full time, I would expect to commit no more than a few months getting to the end of a first iteration of something. If after 2 years of trying, I can't make a living from whatever I have developed - give up and go back to contracting before my skills are no longer marketable.

[NickFitz]

Agreed. I was thinking more about devoting a couple of years getting to the point of making a modest living from this, not to get to my first release. If I was on it full time, I would expect to commit no more than a few months getting to the end of a first iteration of something. If after 2 years of trying, I can't make a living from whatever I have developed - give up and go back to contracting before my skills are no longer marketable.

Or get new skills

I still find my assembly language skills from the 80s occasionally relevant to web dev stuff like JavaScript (even if only in fun ), and then there's Objective C for iOS and OS X stuff, which is really standard C combined with Smalltalk... all the "modern" stuff is built on what we were doing thirty and more years ago.

Technologies may cease to be marketable, but knowledge and experience just have to be used in a new context

[aussielong]

Or get new skills

I still find my assembly language skills from the 80s occasionally relevant to web dev stuff like JavaScript (even if only in fun ), and then there's Objective C for iOS and OS X stuff, which is really standard C combined with Smalltalk... all the "modern" stuff is built on what we were doing thirty and more years ago.

Technologies may cease to be marketable, but knowledge and experience just have to be used in a new context

Are you selling a purely technical skillset? That seems risky to me - for a pretty average dev like myself anyway. I'm still a dev but i've gone down the specialised business knowledge / vendor product route (if I get a couple of versions behind I won't get any contracts) to try and set myself apart.

[cojak]

Are you selling a purely technical skillset? That seems risky to me - for a pretty average dev like myself anyway. I'm still a dev but i've gone down the specialised business knowledge / vendor product route (if I get a couple of versions behind I won't get any contracts) to try and set myself apart.

Be careful with that route, if the vendor decides to dump that product you might find yourself looking at a blind alley

[BlasterBates]

Since I started playing rockabilly, whether I contract or be permie is completely irrelevant, the main thing is we have a string of gigs booked over the next few months, 3 coming up

[Lockhouse]

Been contracting 25 years. Always thought I'd been retired by now. Two divorces later and it looks like I'm jacking it in in 2 or 3 years time for sure.

What I would say though is that I've blown shedloads of cash on cars, holidays, women and restaurants. If I'd have been more careful with my dosh and only been married the once, I'd be considerably richer than yous. Alas not, but I am very happy with my lot. I've been rich and miserable and I'd take poor and happy any day of the week.

[Scrag Meister]

Until I retire.

3 - 5 years or when I stop enjoying what I do, or maybe when the work dries up.

WCS

Keep going until I can't anymore for whatever reason or can afford not to.

[Lockhouse]

Since I started playing rockabilly, whether I contract or be permie is completely irrelevant, the main thing is we have a string of gigs booked over the next few months, 3 coming up

If you ever have any gigs over here (specifically in The South) let us know!

[northernladuk]

Won't the OP be contracting as long as sockies are aloud on here? After that it will be back to the drawer?

[Scrag Meister]

Won't the OP be contracting as long as sockies are allowed on here? After that it will be back to the drawer?

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