And how do you achieve autonomy if not via taking power? I mean you can work as a contractor, but the game is the same. You either make low pay, or work for someone else, or have the power to govern other people's agenda.
> And how do you achieve autonomy if not via taking power?
I have a yearly performance review which is a friendly sit down with the boss in which I, for the most part, set the agenda and generally boils down to a summary of the professional development I've undertaken throughout the year. The meeting runs for 1 hour and has always been conducted as a meeting of equals, not as a shakedown.
The job is mostly performed in isolation which results in collegial interactions that are professional and respectful. After all, the profession is not adversarial. My colleagues have nothing to gain from making me look bad.
I often have to pinch myself when I think about the work I do. I am essentially my own boss without any of the uncertainty, volatility or downside.
If you're thinking of a career to teaching, beware and make your decision wisely. My understanding is that in the US it is a disaster. Poor pay, micromanaged to death with all the joy sucked out via standardised testing. It varies country by country. As always do your homework before making any rash decisions.
I imagine there are other professions that offer similar autonomy. Medicine springs to mind.
I'm not familiar with this phrase. Could you clarify?
Damn, I wish teaching here worked like it does for you. I'd have much happier friends, and might consider it myself.
Maybe I should spend more time thinking about this :)
edit: And I only have to work two hours a day!
I like the traditional setup. Some stuff is abstracted away nicely (benefits, office space, working hours).
“I wouldn’t be able to handle the added stress” was the response, and I can see why from that answer more people don’t do this. Decide to freelance in addition to doing a 9-5 and you’ll not only put more work on your table but other sorts of responsibilities - accounting, client relations, being your own project manager, etc. - will make it much more harder to decompress if you had a shit day at work.
For the Apple store in particular I've seen it get so crowded without adequate app discovery mechanisms in place that it seems like without serious marketing money you're essentially rolling the dice on how successful your app is going to be. I don't really want to spend a bunch of my time on that, when I could spend it on other pursuits.
But maybe this is a mistaken perception? Why do you think it's so simple to do? Just because you've found success or is your approach different than the norm somehow?
But when you do get one, it can generate revenue for a long time coming.
I think with some good market research you could probably be more sure though. And also going into partnership with somebody lowers the risk as you can churn out more apps then share the profits when you do get a successful one. Personally I have not had much luck with the Apple app stores because of their crowded/discovery issues etc, but I also have not put much effort into them due to their horrible restrictions (the sandbox is a killer with the way they've implemented it, and a lot of my software needs admin privs to run)