Some of you people (another shamelessly stolen phrase from Limbaugh) have been telling me that I write too many political articles. So here’s something more in the technical realm.
Lately I’ve been involved in some fairly ambitious web projects – as in web design projects. Actually, I have been doing web design for some time now but they have all been my own personal web sites. These recent project have been for other organizations and individuals (see ref. below).
Yes, they are time consuming and keep me up at all hours of the night. I guess I enjoy doing web design because I cannot seem to quit or turn down new projects. Since about this time last year when I began the first Boy Scout web site it has been non-stop.
So far, I have not accepted any monetary compensation for the work. I am holding on to the idea that I get the experience and increase my skills, rather than receive pay. I realize this is, of course, a naïve way to look at it and also I am probably getting taken to the cleaners. I also realize that for some of my work, businesses and organizations would expect to pay several thousand dollars.
Which brings me to the focus of this article. I’d like to ask a question and, by the way, I do not have an answer. When you discover that you have a marketable skill, one that you do not normally use on your regular day job, how do you decide when to take the hobby to a professional level? And how do you do it?
Much of this thought process of mine has been driven by two separate but related events. The first was my experience moving to Utah with no job offers to speak of and no real career outlook here. Here I was trying to find a home and dragging my family out to Utah without any realistic way to earn a living. Why, you ask? Well, at the time it seemed the right thing to do. The “IT bubble” had not yet burst and so I didn’t anticipate too much of a problem securing a job. But I quickly realized once I arrived that not only was the IT field right on the verge of undergoing a major disruption, but also that the job market in Utah has always been depressed.
Four years went by going from one crappy job to another just to pay bills. It wasn’t until the day I was about to put the house on the market that I finally landed the job I have and it has so far worked out well.
The other issue is that the economy is in the toilet and, like you; I am trying to consider my options and try to come up with a plan in the event that I might lose my current employment.
One of the parts of this plan is to leverage any marketable skills I may have. It is fine to say that most people will change careers 3 times in their working lives. It is quite another thing to implement that change. No one I have ever talked to has ever been enthusiastic about changing careers. It is a difficult and costly endeavor. However, because this country has voted for a socialist and fascist president who has already implemented economic policies akin to the European Union and is working hard to dissolve any free market system we have, I felt it best to at least entertain the idea of diversifying my skills and attempt to bring more to the professional table.
My dilemma is when to take the leap of faith. How do I determine when I have the necessary skills to move from a pastime to a career? Like I said, I have no answers, only questions. But I am a realist. A colleague at work reminded me it is a “dog-eat-dog” world out there. The fierce competition in the IT world has grown to new heights. You’ll either make it, or you won’t. And it is even more difficult working freelance. There is always someone better, faster, more skilled, and worth more money. I would be stupid to think otherwise.
Still, I keep getting requests for my work. Either people like what I do, or they like that I don’t charge them, I am not certain which, but one thing is certain. I like doing web design and there appears to be some interest in my work. I still do not know where this will eventually lead. It might be a career change, or it might be just some nice charity work for non-profit organizations. Who knows? But I am having fun doing it.
* ref: samples of Pete's design work - Wood Badge, Sew Sweet Designs, Bartlett Dental
