How can I effectively shorten the hours I devote to my software developer career, so I can have more time...
I have been a junior C++ developer for a year since graduating in engineering.
I am also pursuing my creative dreams on the side. However, I feel like my current lifestyle is not sustainable.
My job and commute take up 50 hours a week that I can't devote to creative work. I try to dedicate the rest of my time to my passion. However, whenever I have any other responsibilities(to family, friends, health, maintenance), my time gets immediately drained. I have no free time at all, which can feel demoralizing.
I want to know how I can get the best of both worlds -- a secure livelihood that I enjoy, with more time to pursue my art. I am willing to sacrifice pay for this.
There are several options I know of that may accomplish this. I just don't know how achievable they are.
- Find a part time software job.
- Becoming a freelancer
- Find a 30 hour software job
- Find a remote job.
- Save money and quit my job for X years
- Ask my current manager if I could work fewer hours at my current job
Which of the above options is most attainable for me as a junior developer, and what strategy can I use to avoid hurting my software career?
careers
New contributor
add a comment |
I have been a junior C++ developer for a year since graduating in engineering.
I am also pursuing my creative dreams on the side. However, I feel like my current lifestyle is not sustainable.
My job and commute take up 50 hours a week that I can't devote to creative work. I try to dedicate the rest of my time to my passion. However, whenever I have any other responsibilities(to family, friends, health, maintenance), my time gets immediately drained. I have no free time at all, which can feel demoralizing.
I want to know how I can get the best of both worlds -- a secure livelihood that I enjoy, with more time to pursue my art. I am willing to sacrifice pay for this.
There are several options I know of that may accomplish this. I just don't know how achievable they are.
- Find a part time software job.
- Becoming a freelancer
- Find a 30 hour software job
- Find a remote job.
- Save money and quit my job for X years
- Ask my current manager if I could work fewer hours at my current job
Which of the above options is most attainable for me as a junior developer, and what strategy can I use to avoid hurting my software career?
careers
New contributor
This question as written seems to be more asking about time management or personal productivity. For a Workplace question focus on one workplace issue (e.g. how to approach your boss about flexible hours). Also you're trying to ask too many things for a good question. E.g. "How do I ask about flexible hours" and "How do I transition to professional artist" deserve different questions and answers.
– Brandin
27 mins ago
Are you pursing Arts as a career or a hobby. You have only been a developer for 1 year which is nothing. You can have a passion and it can simply be something you do in your free time.
– Shadowzee
20 mins ago
Shadowzee: I am pursuing arts as a profession. The reason why I didn't get an arts degree was because of the risk involved, and at the time I hoped that getting a technical degree could shift my interests.
– Jen
13 mins ago
Brandin: I just edited the question. Is there anything else I could do to fix issues? I feel like a question like this belongs on this site, but I definitely can improve it to make it follow guidelines more.
– Jen
12 mins ago
add a comment |
I have been a junior C++ developer for a year since graduating in engineering.
I am also pursuing my creative dreams on the side. However, I feel like my current lifestyle is not sustainable.
My job and commute take up 50 hours a week that I can't devote to creative work. I try to dedicate the rest of my time to my passion. However, whenever I have any other responsibilities(to family, friends, health, maintenance), my time gets immediately drained. I have no free time at all, which can feel demoralizing.
I want to know how I can get the best of both worlds -- a secure livelihood that I enjoy, with more time to pursue my art. I am willing to sacrifice pay for this.
There are several options I know of that may accomplish this. I just don't know how achievable they are.
- Find a part time software job.
- Becoming a freelancer
- Find a 30 hour software job
- Find a remote job.
- Save money and quit my job for X years
- Ask my current manager if I could work fewer hours at my current job
Which of the above options is most attainable for me as a junior developer, and what strategy can I use to avoid hurting my software career?
careers
New contributor
I have been a junior C++ developer for a year since graduating in engineering.
I am also pursuing my creative dreams on the side. However, I feel like my current lifestyle is not sustainable.
My job and commute take up 50 hours a week that I can't devote to creative work. I try to dedicate the rest of my time to my passion. However, whenever I have any other responsibilities(to family, friends, health, maintenance), my time gets immediately drained. I have no free time at all, which can feel demoralizing.
I want to know how I can get the best of both worlds -- a secure livelihood that I enjoy, with more time to pursue my art. I am willing to sacrifice pay for this.
There are several options I know of that may accomplish this. I just don't know how achievable they are.
- Find a part time software job.
- Becoming a freelancer
- Find a 30 hour software job
- Find a remote job.
- Save money and quit my job for X years
- Ask my current manager if I could work fewer hours at my current job
Which of the above options is most attainable for me as a junior developer, and what strategy can I use to avoid hurting my software career?
careers
careers
New contributor
New contributor
edited 14 mins ago
Jen
New contributor
asked 1 hour ago
JenJen
61
61
New contributor
New contributor
This question as written seems to be more asking about time management or personal productivity. For a Workplace question focus on one workplace issue (e.g. how to approach your boss about flexible hours). Also you're trying to ask too many things for a good question. E.g. "How do I ask about flexible hours" and "How do I transition to professional artist" deserve different questions and answers.
– Brandin
27 mins ago
Are you pursing Arts as a career or a hobby. You have only been a developer for 1 year which is nothing. You can have a passion and it can simply be something you do in your free time.
– Shadowzee
20 mins ago
Shadowzee: I am pursuing arts as a profession. The reason why I didn't get an arts degree was because of the risk involved, and at the time I hoped that getting a technical degree could shift my interests.
– Jen
13 mins ago
Brandin: I just edited the question. Is there anything else I could do to fix issues? I feel like a question like this belongs on this site, but I definitely can improve it to make it follow guidelines more.
– Jen
12 mins ago
add a comment |
This question as written seems to be more asking about time management or personal productivity. For a Workplace question focus on one workplace issue (e.g. how to approach your boss about flexible hours). Also you're trying to ask too many things for a good question. E.g. "How do I ask about flexible hours" and "How do I transition to professional artist" deserve different questions and answers.
– Brandin
27 mins ago
Are you pursing Arts as a career or a hobby. You have only been a developer for 1 year which is nothing. You can have a passion and it can simply be something you do in your free time.
– Shadowzee
20 mins ago
Shadowzee: I am pursuing arts as a profession. The reason why I didn't get an arts degree was because of the risk involved, and at the time I hoped that getting a technical degree could shift my interests.
– Jen
13 mins ago
Brandin: I just edited the question. Is there anything else I could do to fix issues? I feel like a question like this belongs on this site, but I definitely can improve it to make it follow guidelines more.
– Jen
12 mins ago
This question as written seems to be more asking about time management or personal productivity. For a Workplace question focus on one workplace issue (e.g. how to approach your boss about flexible hours). Also you're trying to ask too many things for a good question. E.g. "How do I ask about flexible hours" and "How do I transition to professional artist" deserve different questions and answers.
– Brandin
27 mins ago
This question as written seems to be more asking about time management or personal productivity. For a Workplace question focus on one workplace issue (e.g. how to approach your boss about flexible hours). Also you're trying to ask too many things for a good question. E.g. "How do I ask about flexible hours" and "How do I transition to professional artist" deserve different questions and answers.
– Brandin
27 mins ago
Are you pursing Arts as a career or a hobby. You have only been a developer for 1 year which is nothing. You can have a passion and it can simply be something you do in your free time.
– Shadowzee
20 mins ago
Are you pursing Arts as a career or a hobby. You have only been a developer for 1 year which is nothing. You can have a passion and it can simply be something you do in your free time.
– Shadowzee
20 mins ago
Shadowzee: I am pursuing arts as a profession. The reason why I didn't get an arts degree was because of the risk involved, and at the time I hoped that getting a technical degree could shift my interests.
– Jen
13 mins ago
Shadowzee: I am pursuing arts as a profession. The reason why I didn't get an arts degree was because of the risk involved, and at the time I hoped that getting a technical degree could shift my interests.
– Jen
13 mins ago
Brandin: I just edited the question. Is there anything else I could do to fix issues? I feel like a question like this belongs on this site, but I definitely can improve it to make it follow guidelines more.
– Jen
12 mins ago
Brandin: I just edited the question. Is there anything else I could do to fix issues? I feel like a question like this belongs on this site, but I definitely can improve it to make it follow guidelines more.
– Jen
12 mins ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
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Stick with programming for 5 years. Once you've solidified that as a career (assuming you improve), you can start taking 2-3 month sabbaticals every few years if you save properly, because you will be able to find jobs easily. In the meantime, dedicate an hour a day. A 50 hour workweek with commute time doesn't sound that taxing to me, especially for a young person. There's 168 hours in a week. 50 is work, 56 is sleep, leaving you with 62 hours a week for anything else. That's almost 9 hours a day on average.
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1 Answer
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1 Answer
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Stick with programming for 5 years. Once you've solidified that as a career (assuming you improve), you can start taking 2-3 month sabbaticals every few years if you save properly, because you will be able to find jobs easily. In the meantime, dedicate an hour a day. A 50 hour workweek with commute time doesn't sound that taxing to me, especially for a young person. There's 168 hours in a week. 50 is work, 56 is sleep, leaving you with 62 hours a week for anything else. That's almost 9 hours a day on average.
add a comment |
Stick with programming for 5 years. Once you've solidified that as a career (assuming you improve), you can start taking 2-3 month sabbaticals every few years if you save properly, because you will be able to find jobs easily. In the meantime, dedicate an hour a day. A 50 hour workweek with commute time doesn't sound that taxing to me, especially for a young person. There's 168 hours in a week. 50 is work, 56 is sleep, leaving you with 62 hours a week for anything else. That's almost 9 hours a day on average.
add a comment |
Stick with programming for 5 years. Once you've solidified that as a career (assuming you improve), you can start taking 2-3 month sabbaticals every few years if you save properly, because you will be able to find jobs easily. In the meantime, dedicate an hour a day. A 50 hour workweek with commute time doesn't sound that taxing to me, especially for a young person. There's 168 hours in a week. 50 is work, 56 is sleep, leaving you with 62 hours a week for anything else. That's almost 9 hours a day on average.
Stick with programming for 5 years. Once you've solidified that as a career (assuming you improve), you can start taking 2-3 month sabbaticals every few years if you save properly, because you will be able to find jobs easily. In the meantime, dedicate an hour a day. A 50 hour workweek with commute time doesn't sound that taxing to me, especially for a young person. There's 168 hours in a week. 50 is work, 56 is sleep, leaving you with 62 hours a week for anything else. That's almost 9 hours a day on average.
answered 14 mins ago
TomboTombo
995116
995116
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Jen is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Jen is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Jen is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Jen is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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This question as written seems to be more asking about time management or personal productivity. For a Workplace question focus on one workplace issue (e.g. how to approach your boss about flexible hours). Also you're trying to ask too many things for a good question. E.g. "How do I ask about flexible hours" and "How do I transition to professional artist" deserve different questions and answers.
– Brandin
27 mins ago
Are you pursing Arts as a career or a hobby. You have only been a developer for 1 year which is nothing. You can have a passion and it can simply be something you do in your free time.
– Shadowzee
20 mins ago
Shadowzee: I am pursuing arts as a profession. The reason why I didn't get an arts degree was because of the risk involved, and at the time I hoped that getting a technical degree could shift my interests.
– Jen
13 mins ago
Brandin: I just edited the question. Is there anything else I could do to fix issues? I feel like a question like this belongs on this site, but I definitely can improve it to make it follow guidelines more.
– Jen
12 mins ago