Ask HN: How do you continue to work for the same company?
Not sure if I'm odd, but I lose all interest in work around 6 months... Burnt out from learning all new stuff and not getting a break from monotonous cycle. I wish I had April to Aug off.
I don't know what your gig is, but I've spent the past 20+ years consulting because I can't see myself ever working f/t in one spot for very long either. Of course you have to determine what your expertise is, and be willing to reliably stick within it.
Consulting has its hardships, and sometimes there's a windfall. One thing is for certain - my gigs have a very short duration and I'm all the happier for it. Some are only a few days long. Others are weeks or a few months. The billing makes it worthwhile. I draw the line after a certain point unless I hadn't had a gig in a while (and I nearly always wish I didn't take the longer gigs I've been on). I have repeat customers, but there's always a gap and other gigs between them so it feels fresh again each time, and I'm genuinely happy to see them by that point. I think they all eventually know I'm glad for the break, and they get better work from me that way. Everything has a list of deliverables, and after that I'm out the door. There is nothing that will make me go beyond the agreed deliverables except another contract. No "extensions." It makes things so much more easy.
It also means I never have to return to the ones I didn't enjoy. I never do.
I'm one of those candidates that doesn't reply when told "this could become a permanent position!" unless they leave out the expectation of it becoming permanent. I'm perfectly willing to help them gear someone up for the position if they wanted more permanence!
That's consulting in a nutshell. You might like it.
- how do you find clients, or found when you started
- how do you handle health insurance
After a few years of that, it became almost entirely word of mouth and repeat gigs spanning outward from people I worked with. It helped (a lot!) that I did a fair amount of public speaking and TV appearances at the time as well, but that totally depends on the industry you are in.
I live in Canada, so health insurance is already dealt with. As for business insurance, there are a gazillion insurance companies out there for that. If your first gigs are through recruiters, you won't need it right away.
I don't do much consulting (or working, for that matter) these days since the lockdowns began, but for the most part I took any between-gig downtime as self-improvement time, taking whatever courses etc. that were necessary or useful. In each business, there are predictable down-times throughout the year, so you start to schedule those events for then.
I'll warn you this: taking courses is a double whammy - you pay for them yourself, and usually aren't getting paid while taking them. That's one of the negatives, but if you get a name for yourself, it pays off just fine. The first time is extremely daunting, and you'll learn the true meaning of imposter syndrome as you watch those funds evaporate.