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Kristian Woods
23,414 PointsCan you work in Web Development and still travel?
Hello, I've been a treehouse student for almost a year. I'm also studying Web at college. I have one year left before I graduate. I'm looking to work in Web as a Front-End Developer. As soon as college is finished, I want to grab as much work experience as possible, whether its paid or unpaid.
My question is - can you travel while working in web? I know there are freelance options - be my own boss. But, can you work for a studio or agency without having to come into the office everyday? can you work from home/other countries if you meet a daily work quota, or something along those lines? I got into web for a lot of reasons - I genuinely love to code and the whole creative process, amongst other reasons. However, I've also heard that the industry can be flexible. In general, how flexible are studios/agencies in regards to working from home or outside the country?
Thanks
4 Answers
Nathan Williams
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 6,851 PointsAbsolutely, the phrase you're probably looking for is "remote work", and an increasing number of companies have a partially/fully remote workforce. If it's a priority for you, you can definitely make it one of your employment criteria when you're interviewing to find the right company :)
Thomas the Tank Engine
12,107 PointsUnfortunately, my answer will be: it depends.
I know it is possible to travel and do development work. I have done it many times during vacation or holidays (even weekends). But that has been mostly things that had to be done or emergency stuff rather than entire projects. It's not because I couldn't do it on regular basis, but because bosses still want to see us sitting at a desk and be available to hear their ideas as they are thinking.
You could find a place that will allow you to telecommute. Most places will at least have a weekly mandatory meeting. And some corporate environments may not allow you connect to their network from untrusted places for security concerns. But with some luck you may find the right work place.
Freelancing would be more suitable for what you want. All you need is a laptop and a hotspot. You could post your work to a git repository. Furthermore, freelancing will give you more free time to actually enjoy the places where you are traveling because working 9 to 10 hours a day won't give you much leisure time.
A X
12,842 PointsFrom my understanding Kristian IT jobs that allow you to work entirely from a distance are rare to find, especially legitimate positions. Online job sites, especially Craigslist, are over-run with many ads touting that you can "work from home" but those are in the category of if it sounds too good to be true, it is. However, there are positions that exist with the ability to work remotely. My understanding is they're more rare for entry level positions though. I'd check sites like Dice now and get a feel for what type of positions tend to allow "remote" work. It might also be a good plan to do informational interviews with companies that you're interested in working for to see how possible this might be.
LaToya Legemah
12,600 PointsTo add to what everyone else is saying, I've found the more specialized your skill is the better chances for remote opportunities. Programmers with Java, PHP skills in my experience tend to have more remote opportunities as well as Drupal Developers. I'm making these my focus so I can qualify for more remote work. In Front End web development, there tend to be more remote work for Senior Developers.
Nathan Williams
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 6,851 PointsNathan Williams
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 6,851 PointsAs for "how flexible", it kind of depends on the company, tbh. Most companies I've worked for don't care where you're at as long as you are roughly on the same schedule as the people you need to collaborate with, and you're putting in the right amount of time and getting your work done. Some companies don't even care about schedule overlap, though I think that's a bit more rare.