It's always a question of how much you're willing to get away with.
I went down to Murrow today. Thought I'd get some more details on the web developer position open for the school paper. I didn't apply - I just wanted to talk to them about it. After a minute or two a few things became clear:
1) They really, REALLY need some help.
2) I'm entirely overqualified. PHP/MySQL/JS? Shit, I've been breathing that stuff for at least 7 years.
3) The pay will probably be shitty because they have low expectations of web developers.
4) Taking this job would give me access to the entire school database.
Here's my dilemma: taking this job would result in the exclusion of me building a site for Pullman. Why does this matter?
Pros: (of taking job)
-Possible springboard for future work
-Access to entire school database. Don't even get me started on this point.
-Use of new technology (talk of partnering with Microsoft on new project)
-Work structure. (far too easy to slack off working from home)
-Social benefits of working with others (my interpersonal skills blow)
Cons:
-If I don't take this job I could make the same site on my own and keep 100% of all advertising dollars made off site. Taking the job would mean only getting a small fraction of the money.
-In the end I will be given little credit for the finished product (new website, backend, etc)
-Have to stick to work schedule, even if school work piles up.
-May require me to give up some of my summer vacation.
-Shitty shit shit pay ($9 an hour)
-Less creative control (I have epic ideas that I could implement in a personal Pullman site, but not on the school paper site)
The key points, of course, are the shitty pay and the thwarted local site. I'm thinking if I do take it I could use it as a means to learn a few finer points on community site development and then use it to spin off such sites to other places. It's hard for me to justify taking this up when I have side projects paying over 3 times as much per hour, but I think the structure would help me deal with procrastination.
Side note: that girl from the last party invited me out to party and whatnot on Saturday. I'm looking for a date for Sunday, though; there's a swing dance thing and I'm going to check it out if I find a dance partner and some semiformal attire. I can think of a few girls that may be worth asking. We'll see.
1) They really, REALLY need some help.
2) I'm entirely overqualified. PHP/MySQL/JS? Shit, I've been breathing that stuff for at least 7 years.
3) The pay will probably be shitty because they have low expectations of web developers.
4) Taking this job would give me access to the entire school database.
Here's my dilemma: taking this job would result in the exclusion of me building a site for Pullman. Why does this matter?
Pros: (of taking job)
-Possible springboard for future work
-Access to entire school database. Don't even get me started on this point.
-Use of new technology (talk of partnering with Microsoft on new project)
-Work structure. (far too easy to slack off working from home)
-Social benefits of working with others (my interpersonal skills blow)
Cons:
-If I don't take this job I could make the same site on my own and keep 100% of all advertising dollars made off site. Taking the job would mean only getting a small fraction of the money.
-In the end I will be given little credit for the finished product (new website, backend, etc)
-Have to stick to work schedule, even if school work piles up.
-May require me to give up some of my summer vacation.
-Shitty shit shit pay ($9 an hour)
-Less creative control (I have epic ideas that I could implement in a personal Pullman site, but not on the school paper site)
The key points, of course, are the shitty pay and the thwarted local site. I'm thinking if I do take it I could use it as a means to learn a few finer points on community site development and then use it to spin off such sites to other places. It's hard for me to justify taking this up when I have side projects paying over 3 times as much per hour, but I think the structure would help me deal with procrastination.
Side note: that girl from the last party invited me out to party and whatnot on Saturday. I'm looking for a date for Sunday, though; there's a swing dance thing and I'm going to check it out if I find a dance partner and some semiformal attire. I can think of a few girls that may be worth asking. We'll see.