Reply to: Contractors working from home

[Torran]

I think it's been said on this site before, but I'd be wary if my job could be done just as well remotely. If you're paying someone £500/day to work offsite in Islington, why not pay someone £50/day to work offsite in Bangalore?
I know the language barriers are often a problem and many people I've worked with have voiced concerns about working with dev/test teams offshore, it being hard to get a response, lack of visibility about what they are doing, questionable technical abilities etc, but in time natural / business selection will improve the quality of offshore teams and the beancounters will see it as a no-brainer to dump the expensive techie in London for several in Manilla.
In fact, many already do.
I keep repeating the mantra that business likes to be able to have access to local managers and leads for offshore projects, which will keep me in a job. Hopefully for a few more years, until I retrain as a plumber, or a fluffer.

You haven't really thought this through properly have you? Either that or you have never worked with offshore teams

[r0bly0ns]

I think it's been said on this site before, but I'd be wary if my job could be done just as well remotely. If you're paying someone £500/day to work offsite in Islington, why not pay someone £50/day to work offsite in Bangalore?
I know the language barriers are often a problem and many people I've worked with have voiced concerns about working with dev/test teams offshore, it being hard to get a response, lack of visibility about what they are doing, questionable technical abilities etc, but in time natural / business selection will improve the quality of offshore teams and the beancounters will see it as a no-brainer to dump the expensive techie in London for several in Manilla.
In fact, many already do.
I keep repeating the mantra that business likes to be able to have access to local managers and leads for offshore projects, which will keep me in a job. Hopefully for a few more years, until I retrain as a plumber, or a fluffer.

On of our clients did exactly this, gave us a 1 year contract, then half way through outsourced our work to Manila for £8 / hr.

12 months later, they are still our bigest customer and we are currently negotiating another 12 months.
Half of our time is spent trawiling through the code produced by Manila, finding out what they have done wrong and redoing it.

The manager of the project can't understand why work keeps going to Manila because more than 50% of what they produce has to be redone by us!


Boomed!

[Francko]

I think it's been said on this site before, but I'd be wary if my job could be done just as well remotely. If you're paying someone £500/day to work offsite in Islington, why not pay someone £50/day to work offsite in Bangalore?

Because they'll work £50 a day for 6 months to learn the technology and the business and then they will ask a fixed contract for £450 plus £60 expenses for the next 5 years.

[oracleslave]

The best thing about working from home is being able take a siesta during the day.

I wouldn't want to work from home (on my own) for long as it does tend to get a bit lonely...

Depending on my next contract I might look to share a local office with some people a few times a week.

You can share mine. A 'steal' at rent of £200 pd.

[beaker]

The best thing about working from home is being able take a siesta during the day.

I wouldn't want to work from home (on my own) for long as it does tend to get a bit lonely...

Depending on my next contract I might look to share a local office with some people a few times a week.

[DodgyAgent]

I work from home and sub contract my work to india at 10% of my day rate.

Dodgy Agent Jr.

you'll go far

[Spacecadet]

I think it's been said on this site before, but I'd be wary if my job could be done just as well remotely. If you're paying someone £500/day to work offsite in Islington, why not pay someone £50/day to work offsite in Bangalore?
I know the language barriers are often a problem and many people I've worked with have voiced concerns about working with dev/test teams offshore, it being hard to get a response, lack of visibility about what they are doing, questionable technical abilities etc, but in time natural / business selection will improve the quality of offshore teams and the beancounters will see it as a no-brainer to dump the expensive techie in London for several in Manilla.
In fact, many already do.
I keep repeating the mantra that business likes to be able to have access to local managers and leads for offshore projects, which will keep me in a job. Hopefully for a few more years, until I retrain as a plumber, or a fluffer.

I work from home and sub contract my work to india at 10% of my day rate.

Dodgy Agent Jr.

[DimPrawn]

I think it's been said on this site before, but I'd be wary if my job could be done just as well remotely. If you're paying someone £500/day to work offsite in Islington, why not pay someone £50/day to work offsite in Bangalore?
I know the language barriers are often a problem and many people I've worked with have voiced concerns about working with dev/test teams offshore, it being hard to get a response, lack of visibility about what they are doing, questionable technical abilities etc, but in time natural / business selection will improve the quality of offshore teams and the beancounters will see it as a no-brainer to dump the expensive techie in London for several in Manilla.
In fact, many already do.
I keep repeating the mantra that business likes to be able to have access to local managers and leads for offshore projects, which will keep me in a job. Hopefully for a few more years, until I retrain as a plumber, or a fluffer.

Because:

1. Islington is in the same timezone as the clients office.
2. The home worker knows the client and other team members well, speaks English properly, understands the business and the culture.
3. Can be in the office within an hour or so if need be.

[DodgyAgent]

I think it's been said on this site before, but I'd be wary if my job could be done just as well remotely. If you're paying someone £500/day to work offsite in Islington, why not pay someone £50/day to work offsite in Bangalore?
I know the language barriers are often a problem and many people I've worked with have voiced concerns about working with dev/test teams offshore, it being hard to get a response, lack of visibility about what they are doing, questionable technical abilities etc, but in time natural / business selection will improve the quality of offshore teams and the beancounters will see it as a no-brainer to dump the expensive techie in London for several in Manilla.
In fact, many already do.
I keep repeating the mantra that business likes to be able to have access to local managers and leads for offshore projects, which will keep me in a job. Hopefully for a few more years, until I retrain as a plumber, or a fluffer.

Quite

[Cheshire Cat]

I think it's been said on this site before, but I'd be wary if my job could be done just as well remotely. If you're paying someone £500/day to work offsite in Islington, why not pay someone £50/day to work offsite in Bangalore?
I know the language barriers are often a problem and many people I've worked with have voiced concerns about working with dev/test teams offshore, it being hard to get a response, lack of visibility about what they are doing, questionable technical abilities etc, but in time natural / business selection will improve the quality of offshore teams and the beancounters will see it as a no-brainer to dump the expensive techie in London for several in Manilla.
In fact, many already do.
I keep repeating the mantra that business likes to be able to have access to local managers and leads for offshore projects, which will keep me in a job. Hopefully for a few more years, until I retrain as a plumber, or a fluffer.

[DieScum]

I started working from home in January and it is like a holiday.

I'm doing support stuff. So far been getting about 2 or 3 calls a day. I'd say about 2 hours work a day.

The rest of the time should be pro-actively working on skills in homelab. Which is great but can require discipline.

Bit of a dream job really.

Lasy year I got really p'd off with IT. The stress, stuff breaking, commuting, nobody actually knowing what they are on about, idiot PMs and salesmen, incompetent colleagues, being stuck in an office with boring IT geeks (like me!).

Now working from home most of that stuff is just gone or it doesn't seem such a big deal. IT seems a great choice now. Actually starting to refind my love for technology.

Planning on this lasting 6 months at most (although hopefully a lot longer) and want to position myself with enough skills for the next step.

[TheFaQQer]

I used to get more done at home than in the office.

Would love to do it more, but client will only give a secure laptop to permies.

[VectraMan]

I do it mainly to save on commuting time. Still seems odd that I'm not completely knackered by Friday.

I have to admit that on my two days at home I usually get less done, but then I find it's easier to be focused and motivated when I am on site. Perhaps this working 5 days a week convention is stupid, and if everybody worked every other day we'd all get more done. Though I'd prefer not to have to have the 40% cut in income.

Sadly my secretary is an accountants office 100 miles away, so no sexual harrasment for me.

[kevlong]

Well the other way of looking at it, is that the vast majority of us have always worked 'from' home', but there is an increasing trend towards working 'at' home??

Sorry,

Kevlong

[DodgyAgent]

Find a job you like and you'll never have to work a day in your life - that's what working from home means to me

100 million Indians cant be wrong