How to Choose your Coding Career

[@dzimidzimo]

He was actually a Ruby coder, that's why he was so unhappy.

[@mjdev-i1p]

The Waves at the end of the video are so calming. They make me think.

[@headlights-go-up]

As a noob, corporate is probably my choice to start and form my career. I think the structure and specificity would be more beneficial, at least in the beginning.

[@devincheca9605]

It's these kinds of videos that speak from experience. This is why I subscribed.

[@sespaillat]

Thank you Stefan. This video help me decide to Freelance and go for it full time. I am going to do it part time until I make enough to go full time. I would much rather spend my days building my business than at a corporate job.

[@AbuQaylah]

How did it go?

[@101touchapps]

bro logged out and left a live boat screensaver running

[@alexIVMKD]

I would think building stuff, i.e. development, would be what makes me happier. More on the frontend than in the backend, but preferably full-stack.

[@perlimpinpin101]

I think another thing to consider is try to find the worst aspect of your dream job and see if you are okay with it. Personally I am a sysadmin and if someone told me I would work from 9 - 17 and then from 23 - 8 at night in a cold datacenter. I might have switch to coding earlier.

[@BrucePain-_-]

I currently work a customer service job in company and the only career upgrade in that company is to go linux admin, but dudes work literally 24/7 whole week.... which is crazy and no no to me.. idea that I can be waken up multiple times a night for whole week in a month is terrible

[@jacobhernandez4347]

I didn’t expect the whole advice thing but I really needed to hear this I use to be an electrician working my ass off literally everyday till I couldn’t give anymore I hated it but what kept me around was the money, wasn’t happy at all but I know I can make a change .. thank you

[@StefanMischook]

Welcome!

[@emamel6550]

Really true, I've been working as a free lancer for the last 10 years and I really like the freedom of be my own boss, work when I want in the way I want and take holidays at any time of the year, but some days when I feel burnt out or when there is not enough work to do or I have financial problems I start to question myself if work for a company just for a few hours a day and know that every month I will have my payment and the Steadiness that it gives you would be better

[@CheckmateStallioN]

Another helpful tip I herd is never focus on the $ bc the $ will come in this field. Passion is key, this is a field unlike anyother. You have to love it, not like it!!!! Do it as a hobby without thinking about the $. If you focus on the $ without enjoying it you might end up quitting before you know it

[@chetan9533]

Damn bro u opened my eyes (not literally ofc)

[@canobenitez]

fuck that. i'm in for the muny

[@kennethmorris1571]

Passion is SO over-used and mis-understood. You won't know if you have a passion for something until you've tried it so it takes time to figure out. That's a part of learning in life. Just because you haven't found a passion for something doesn't mean it's not your career. Find something you like well, even if it's not your passion and you should be successful. You can be passionate about picking cotton...the feel of it, the freshness of it, being one with the earth. But if no one is going to pay you well for it, do it as a hobby, not a career!

[@mustafaaljasim7226]

That view at the end. It just spectacular! Thanks for the tip.

[@kodeDev]

Hey Stefan, I freakn love your camera! It actually has me watching your channel even more. It looks like it's pricey 💵.

[@StefanMischook]

C300 Mark III

[@sapientum8]

​@@StefanMischook of course this was Canon... that camera would be enough even for a hollywood movie : )

[@StefanMischook]

@@sapientum8 Yes. When I saw what the new sensor tech could do, I couldn't resist.

[@sapientum8]

@@StefanMischook I totally understand... I have 5D, 5D mark II and 6D. I avoid keeping up with their new updates, because this is a very dangerous temptation.

[@CapProGames]

Not only is this such an informative and helpful video, but your voice is also really soothing and relaxing to listen to.

[@3polygons]

From another one who started two hundred years ago : *Golden advice* . I wish this was more accepted by society, and mostly: told more times by influencing people. And the water part is very calming ASMR (left it running by mistake while doing other stuff, and gotta say the sound is very relaxing).

[@StefanMischook]

That's why I left it running.

[@wilhelmsarasalo3546]

Newspaper delivery is a job in the information technology field. I did that in Helsinki in the 0970's, it paid really well, if you knew how to contract with overlapping companies and optimize your routes (elevators and keys and spots to park your van). Did it in Stockholm, too, but that paid less, but still pretty well. Info tech in both places. Then I came to California and stayed with info tech, this time writing code for whoever paid me for it.

[@victoriahawley2222]

I find listening to you talk is just as calming as the sea. I'm freelancing at the moment until I can land my first Junior role, then once I am confident enough, I might go freelance again. Thanks again Stefan!

[@ay-pj8co]

Hi stephan can you make a video on the development process of an web application by yourself as a full stack developer and the tech choices involved? Thanks.

[@psharpe5904]

Appreciate the videos, sir. Trying to make a career shift and in the baby stages of learning coding in my spare time.

[@adonijahtaylor547]

Hey mr. Sharpe could you please tell me some growing pains and how your journey has come?

[@YouSuckLikeUrFriends]

3 years later. Are you still coding?

[@travisseiter1296]

That story about the executive is awesome. Hahaha

[@14xx07]

I thrive in making my own schedule. Earned so much more and was was healthier back when I freelanced. But people around me look down on freelance and tend to be unimpressed and place me in the same table with teens. Thinking that I have no idea what I’m doing sigh

[@toddboothbee1361]

Freelance or siloed wage slave--it's a big decision. If you start as a freelancer for too many years, no one will want to hire you as an employee. You're what I've heard described as "ruined". Once you've gotten used to freedom, the strange amount of b.s. you'll encounter will be too absurd to put up with, at least with a straight face. I've seen this failed transition a few times among lobster fisher-persons, ruined from years of making their own decisions like grown-ups. Maybe it's better to learn to kiss up and flatter first, then try to transition. I hear going solo after too many years of self-compromise isn't easy either. Cheers!

[@Ownage4lif31]

Todd Boothbee I'm currently facing this rn. Used to make bank with freelance and no longer. Need a job now and I can't even get my head around the dumb interview process. I'm sure if I actually tried to get a job, it would be more worse but what can you do... Programming for a corporate world just seems boring but you need experience somewhere.

[@3polygons]

Actually, I've worked at 10 companies (in a few for a very long time), and covered more fields than anyone I know (as a graphic professional, not programmer, though I've touched some code, too). I've been the perfect slave, but also the pro that ended up with very high responsibilities and without whom the company couldn't even move, by taking more areas and very key ones. Learned to become essential (that's great to gain benefits and influence on the company: but also to destroy your free time and reach high stress...). And... I've had times when I came back from a long time freelancing and adapted well back again to corporate. I mean, not everybody has this issue of going back to that environment. And really, if there's dire need, most people end up adapting, if not in the first, in the second one. The key thing is adaptability, which is important whatever you do, anyway. Also, freelancing can be _way harder_ than working at a company. I have plenty experience in both worlds, to know. For me (currently full time freelancer) it is. I still prefer this activity, but the issue I find (specially past 45) is that when they see (HR people, mostly) that you have been like 7 years freelancing in a row, they raise an eyebrow, as 1) they feel you won't be able to adapt to certain corporate discipline (there, the few of us that do, pay for the majority), scrums, and all that stuff, or 2) They have this tendency to think that no company wanted you (I've been called many times out of the blue, cold calls to fill a nice position (even as an art director), so, is not the case, or not when you had plenty of experience at companies) and/or 3) They want fresh meat, at many companies. A young man or woman (preferably around 22 -25) that they can mold for a very specific purpose, make "loyal" to the company, and even feel they owe it, and use for quite some decades. Is a bit of another stupid thought, as most digital companies I've known do move, change, evolve or disappear so fast that even a single decade is an eternity in tech (or media, design...). The latest one is probably the harder to overcome. I know because while I can work at most companies, some really tempting (as to even consider leaving freelancing at least as full time) I have slightly noticed (maybe was an excess of perception) that age weights quite when you are 45-48 or beyond (IMO, if are attended by an HR or marketing person, not so much if is another person of your field: That one will ask the right questions). Even if you have very high skill in whatever, when they are not too worried in getting a genius, but somebody they can handle in the way they want. This is wrong when you need someone to really push the company forward, not a sheep that doesn't know much. Add to that that often you don't get the chance to even say that you are flexible : they expect you to ask for an astronomic salary as you were doing well as a freelancer (besides a long corporate job history if you evolved that way), and you are veteran enough to not get fooled easily. As I say, it does not help either that you often would face a HR person not necessarily even familiar with the skills and type of "world" you work at. But it is what it is :). So, they just dismiss a number of candidates for age, time of freelancing, etc, loosing so quite some talent (but that's not my problem, it is mostly theirs). They don't know what is really needed when a company is in dire need of a 3D specialist, or a designer with very specific knowledge (and how important is certain level of skills and wins under your belt, over certain standardized nonsense), and the company have been searching for a while for the right candidates. Now, reached that point, is best to consolidate your earnings as a freelance, IMO. I'd say to those considering it, don't go freelancer if you don't have a very STRONG vocation, neither if you have responsibilities that require a 100% safe income (even though jobs are getting less and less secure). As you could be loosing essential time for your career building. In the other side, if you are not finding any job, what the heck are you doing that you are not freelancing ALREADY. :) Ultimately, even in the case of going for a regular job... you still can go the full time freelance route later on, "safely" (safety is an illusion, tho, other than enough money in your bank account. The FU money so many times mentioned). But do it gradually. If you need the money security, start at some companies, learn how is it there, learn technical skills in the process, learn teamwork (social skills so often mentioned in this channel) as will be important too with clients or outsourcing work to colleagues, see if you hate to work in a field, inside a company or not (thing is, it highly depends on the company, the type of persons the bosses are, good mates, etc. But also if the job does not satisfy you. A bad boss can make the best job of the world really a nightmare. I worked at video game studios among other fields, and some were a clear case of making a nice job the worst possible). But in free time (leaving also time for yourself (not your phone or Twitter, lol) to do exercise, very importantly, socialize, read a book, etc) go trying some freelancing here and there. There's always a way to have an hour per day, and two on Sundays and Saturdays. As time passes and you keep putting effort on it, you go having more gigs/clients network, more projects done and/or published, specially if u use the skills learnt in the company jobs in that field, you go getting more clients, that's the heck of a better way to define "safety", only second to a big amount of money in your bank account, if u ask me. When you reach the point that you have learned the ropes of your tech or graphic field very well, the situation will tell it to you, itself. Once you have a strong network of clients, and you see what u usually get per gig, how often or easy do u get those, you will be able to estimate, calculate (but do well the numbers!) if u can make a living. Then you can jump full time, always having a safety money in the bank for at least one year. Or 6 months if u see things really well or easy to get back to a job in your area if things don't go well (but they often go bad ONLY BECAUSE YOU ARE THINKING THEY WON'T GO WELL! It's 95% mindset. Be confident as no one will be that for you). That's one of the sensible plans possible, one of the safest, but is not the only one. I've known cases of very happy people doing that jump right away, but also people for whom it went bad. I'm right in the middle ;) only in terms of money. Super happy in terms of doing what I like. Believe it or not, I pretended to write two sentences. Not writing much lately in any social media, indeed (lack of time and no desire to use my time so).

[@Trynxy]

@@3polygons Thanks for writing about your experience and take from all of it :)

[@3polygons]

@@Trynxy You are welcome! :)

[@101touchapps]

i actually love to draw, sketch and do gamedev....whenever i finish my task at work or come to work early, that's what i enjoy doing the most. when the day starts, i sigh and be like damn it 😅

[@jefferymuter4659]

If freelance felt more like corporate, check in, check out, id probably do it more. I also really hate working with clients. People treat you like a thief at the first sign that a job might be delayed. It's really frustrating. Maybe if I have enough cred to have more boundaries I'd try it again. But right now, it drove me nuts. Too much time spent doing things that aren't coding(I don't enjoy the IT side of dev), extra hours because its hard to factor in time for roadblocks. In the future, id just find someone better with the IT stuff to and pay him for that portion of the work so I could still be the full package.

[@arthurac1337]

Hy from a brazilian fan. Thanks for that, for me this was one of the best videos that you make.

[@eddyterrero7872]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge , i will do the same thing when i am your age with future generations .

[@ulrohermit1369]

Easier said than done, the only thing i really enjoy with burning deep passion and desire is playing video games, how am i going to make a living out of that??! I have to immigrate next year , my country(iran) is falling apart economically , so i chosed to start learning web development for the next 12 months , not that this is my most favorite activity, it is less miserable for me than to work in a blue collar job where you can feel your shit bosses breathes on your neck for shit money, i am the ultimate introvert guy so seeing and taking to most(uninteresting) people more than 10 minutes drains my energy so much, so i have chosed freelance web development, be happy if you can give me some more advice... Thanks for your videos, they're really informing

[@aktsarabdikar636]

TO THE POINT! What you are talking about how you're gonna spend your days at the job, is REALLY REALLY important to certain people, at least to me. It's more important than the passion and the 'do what you love' advice. I can have a 'passion' in electrical engineering, but if I have to work in a remote island working on a transmission tower. Well, fuck that and fuck electrical engineering! I don't give a fuck about how much I love electrical engineering. I don't like working on that environment. I'd rather work as a programmer or software engineer in a corporate environment in my comfortable desk, in my hometown, in my lovely big city, with my coffee on my desk. I can go home to my apartment and go outside at night enjoying myself. On the weekend, and my off days, I can work on my own business or watch concert or making music and entertainment, the very passion I do love. I can have a peace of mind. How you're gonna spend your days at job is very important and critical. I'm thankful I stumble upon your videos. I always thought about this and I thought I'm the only one who think this way. I always feel like this trend of 'do what you love' is not on the right context of life of the individual.

[@dsuess]

This is still one of my favorite outtros

[@gshap1258]

Ya screw corporate. I hate structured things. I get bored very easily. I want control over my life. I hate this resume, HR, gymnastics through this corporate ladder and being judged off of nonsense by every other schmuk at these companies. I'm just gonna do me. Work on what I want to work on. When I want to work and that's it. Thanks for the advice

[@besllu8116]

Freelancing on Upwork and similar seems like it will consume more time for less gain. Sure you can choose when to stop if you just have done some project for good pay, but bidding for what I have seen mostly underpaid tasks is not so tempting to even start. Workin in other industry for small and big worldwide corporations taught me that corporations are always better in overall. From the free time, perks, salary, vacations, and most important work culture. But finding the right company take some time, you can get in when they are reconstructing and there is more stress, sometimes sticking pays off because any decent corporation will seek to find optimal workflow. For me, it is a worldwide corporation all the way.

[@michaelastl]

i work in a corporate environment for a huge, huge, huge company. But, i enjoy working from home or from my office, so they give me the freedom to choose and the stability of a large corporation at the same time. I am able to combine my coding and cybersecurity passion with my professional expertise in the global forwarding / transportation industry which i personally think is very rewarding and satisfying. However, i am doing some small freelance projects on the side, no big things, just some smaller websites or adjustments / integrations for ERP´s or pentesting jobs. The motivation behind all this? Let´s say it´s or the money, for the glory, and for the fun... mostly for the money. ;-)

[@asdjkk1297]

Idk what to choose in my carrier . I need glory,money and all. I love coding. But im little confused. Im a bca student

[@schmoab]

I just took a well paid job that involves some highly proprietary software that is difficult to learn. I’m worried the stuff I’m doing won’t apply anywhere else. But given the Covid situation, I’m glad to be in a good employment situation for now. It’s funny that all these organizations have the same kinds of problems. Ideally I would be helping them solve these issues slowing them down.

[@popeyen7550]

i have the best of both worlds: come into office between 7 and 9, go to eat whenever i wanna, can be 1 hour on lunch. can even work from home a COUPLe of days a week i wanted but i dont.

[@asimabusallam3147]

love what u do

[@somethingaboutnay6019]

I like structure but I definitely also want the freedom to apply my imaginative thinking...do you think data science could do that or should I go more full stack?

[@pygmalioninvenus6057]

Did you decide?

[@funtimer8017]

I’m struggling to figure out what I wanna do because most my life in a gaming phase and I just recently got out of it and I’ve never given any thought to my life so I’m clueless to how to start I feel like it might be tech but then again I’m not even fully sure of that and I don’t know how to figure out what I like in tech I’m clueless to all of it

[@mbonuchinedu2420]

Deep sea at the end. Thanks stef

[@patriciodunican1839]

very much needed occasional push, thanks

[@sayshami]

at the end of this video , i feel peace.

[@pannihto7588]

Sea waves footage in the end just to make the video more than 10 minutes long. What a legend 😎😎😎

[@astratow]

Thanks for sharing. It's very unique piece of advice, but definitely helpful. On the other hand once you got money it's easier to decide what you want to do. When you struggle you have to go with money thing unfortunately.

[@lalotz]

How will I know what the job is like?? Considering all the jobs in IT and programming jobs....how will I even know if I'll like it?? Or even if I'll be good at it

[@adam8402]

A great follow on to this would be a realistic day in the life of each coder type, well the main ones, front end, back end, data science, ai etc.. All the vids on KZbin that show about 10 minutes of work followed by group lunches and ping pong for the rest of the day are completely misleading

[@StuffMadeOnDreams]

Good piece of advice.

[@langhistruk]

Hi Stef! Very interesting, what kind of coding jobs should I choose if I want to be a digital nomad? Thanks

[@nolanxart]

I really appreciate this. Thank you.

[@otmanm4095]

Awesome, thanks !

[@valdius85]

... I was told that "AI people" work in a terrible environment. I would love to see comments from people who actually do it for living.

[@DidiGrooves]

Your new camera really makes you look amazing! Takes off some 120 years! 😉😜 Having said that, I want to have my biz automated to the point where I can go on vacation for a few weeks and return and the biz has expanded. That's why I'm working on e-comm, easy to outsource, and just go off the radar. What beach is this?

[@StefanMischook]

Yes, the new camera is working wonders. That scene I shot in Maine last year.

[@DidiGrooves]

@@StefanMischook Maine coast is pretty dope. We used to do it on ships going up to Canada.

[@unknown-cz5yh]

Really appreciable

[@anassaidi1723]

Great video as always .. one question though .. Do you think that one should try different carrer options before picking one ? Or just doing research abt each option is enough ?

[@amirahassan9602]

your video helps thank you i really love the sea

[@Senseiblueberry]

Hey Stefan, love the videos very informative.

[@aleksadmitrovic6347]

I have problems now because of corona, I can't find any interview for junior or internship... I am kinda losing motivation I don't know what to do I need job so hard...

[@StefanMischook]

Don't give up. You have a chance to work on your site and make it better. Check out my videos on getting jobs ... They should help.

[@aleksadmitrovic6347]

@@StefanMischook ty so much Stefan.

[@MrMartonez]

I really like the texture of your hoodie. Where can I get one? ;)

[@StefanMischook]

I don't remember where I bought it. Sorry.

[@chrischristi1818]

Bro , you could make a great living as an actor LOL ! If you were starting your programming journey over again ; how would you go about it?

[@StefanMischook]

Hmm ...

[@aa72a]

Good. Thank you

[@aliciaaltair]

I would love about 4 hours of the ocean part of this video :)

[@dareemmanuel6079]

Are you based in Canada?

[@briannyaberi9176]

hello Stef, can i call you that? 😎. can you do a video of you recommending the best language combination for a full stack web developer in 2020? Thanks in advance.

[@tiitulitii]

You look better and healthy! What has happened?

[@0monkeyface]

His teeth are straightened. Probably Invisalign

[@WelfredAlmiron]

cool video)

[@travellingstranger3378]

Great advice...some luck helps along the way, as well.

[@bravehotsauce]

Thx!

[@olixz]

It's funny how many people get really well off/rich and have no time to enjoy it.

[@Anoymous2057]

Play it in 1.5X speed

[@LIZzARDsTeam]

Nice hoodie

[@mmbower1]

You’re really really old stef!!!

[@soumadip_banerjee]

💕

[@davidrtrains]

1.5x playback speed

[@divyanshsharma164]

👍👍👍👍

[@mr.c7411]

😁

[@carlvalderrama1252]

Coding is very boring. Just finished a bootcamp. Yawn.